A Pacification With Erasure
by Sepetyra Navi
Summary: The vibes of Shibuya have began to stray to the other side of the spectrum. Reapers are forced to the RG against their will, and four powerful and mysterious new Reapers are behind it all. With the Composer gone, what can Neku do to survive?
1. Chapter 1

What's up? Sepetyra here, just about to lay down a fic of one of my favorite games ever. You know, the DS craze, TWEWY? Yeah, thought so. Well, I'll be taking a few liberties with the fictional Shibuya…such as the inclusion of a few OCs (they fit, I swear!) and ignoring a couple of TWEWY's more confusing laws, just so I don't have to constantly go back and make a reference to the game every time I write something about alternate planes of existence. So yeah, this could be weird, but I promise an exciting endeavor…we'll see how far that goes… Now!! Come with me to Shibuya, a year after the main story ensued!!

* * *

Bustling busybodies ran rampant through the stylish streets of Shibuya. Everyone ignored each other as they went on their way to wherever the hell they want to be. Usually, people stand out as important based on what they're wearing, but in Shibuya, _everyone_ seemed important. Luckily, only a handful of them were.

Shuto "Shooter" Dan was running late for school one day when he decided to take a shortcut through A-East. His parents always advised him to totally avoid A-East at all costs, but he was late, and therefore, desperate. Shooter was in luck. During this time of day, no one could be found in A-East but… some guy standing in Shooter's way.

"Yo, get out of the way, bro!" Shooter called as he continued sprinting. Like a bird to a window, Shooter slammed right into the man, flying back to the ground.

"Hey, watch it, kid! You wanna die, huh?" the man asked, leaning over Shooter with an expression of hatred. The man had wicked sweet asymmetrical parted hair and a shaggy beard, all of which accompanied the heavy bags under his eyes and the long scar rising from his left cheek. Around his arm was a strip of cloth with a stylized skull on it. His shirt was ridiculously small and was only held together by one button. And on said shirt were a couple eerie lookin'…

"PINS, bro!" Shooter exclaimed, jumping to his feet.

The man stood straight, raising his one visible eyebrow. "--The hell?"

"You got some sweet pins, bro! You slammin'?"

"Slammin' what? Your face against the pavement? Cause I'm about to, you little maggot." The man replied cracking his knuckles.

"Nah. Slammin' pins! Tin Pin Slammer! You feel me, bro?!"

"I feel you getting on my nerves, punk. Beat it or I'll be forced to kill a bitch."

It finally occurred to Shooter that the man wasn't interested in Tin Pin Slammer, so he picked his bag up off the ground and ran off.

The man watched as the kid escaped into the busy streets of Dogenzaka. He hated the idea of crowds, but loved the idea of big cities, so Shibuya wasn't really the place for him. But he had been making due with A-East for the past several days, so he decided to hold his meeting there.

"Hehehe," came a voice from somewhere nearby, "What a jerk you are, Korasu…if that's really your name."

Korasu, the man who had just gotten over being antagonized by Shooter, grinned, revealing a small fang in the corner of his mouth. "It's the only name you'll know me by, Composer…" he said, turning to find a young boy with angelic hair and a snide expression.

The Composer displayed the phone in his hand. "I got your message. I didn't have anything better to do, so I came out here to see who you really were," he grinned with a flip of his hair, "I've heard some Reapers talk of you…You sound quite troublesome. Don't like rules, eh?"

"Damn right, man. The only rule I like is mine over Shibuya, get me?" Korasu replied.

The Composer spontaneously disappeared and reappeared sitting on the ledge of a building towering over Korasu. "Don't think you're the first one to act out. Are you familiar with Sho Minamimoto? He, too, attempted to take my life, much as I assume you're going to try." The Composer said, beginning to type on his phone.

Korasu looked up at the boy taking a hand out of his pocket. "Well, you know the difference between me and him?" he asked, pointing up at the Composer, "I won't fail." The he shot a beam of distorted static at the boy, blasting a hole right through his chest.

"B-but…That can't even be possible…" the Composer whispered.

"There. Told you I wouldn't fail," Korasu said, putting his hand back in his pocket.

"What do you plan to do? You can take over my position…that's what you wanted, right?" the Composer asked, barely able to keep himself on that plane. He felt like he getting pulled into a plane of pure static distortion, like hell, or something.

"No way," Korasu replied, turning away toward the Main Store, "I want this whole Reaper's Game shit to stop."

"But then, Shibuya will…" The Composer suddenly exploded into a rip of static and disappeared.

Korasu took out his phone and began to compose text messages at a farcical rate. One sent to someone named Satsujin, one to a Jisatsu, and one to a Neku Sakuraba. After he sent the messages, he dialed a number and made a call. "I did it, man. I killed the Composer."

* * *

If there was one thing Neku hardly cared about anymore, it was math class. After dealing with Minamimoto the previous year, he felt that he knew enough obscure mathematical references to last him a lifetime, and now, he was forced to memorize nominal equations which paled in comparison with the Reaper's _vocabulary_. But still, he was smart enough to ignore the teacher and still ace the tests…but not smart enough to set his phone to vibrate in class! His phone beeped indicating he had a new message.

"Holy crap!" Neku blurted, adding insult to the injury of his original disturbance. The class laughed at him, whereas the teacher couldn't look more pissed.

"Give me the phone, Neku. You can get it back after class." The teacher said.

'I'll probably forget I have a new message after class…' Neku thought, pulling his phone out of his pocket on the way to the teacher's desk. 'Figures,' he thought, checking the name on the phone, 'Just something from Joshua…He _would_ try and get me in trouble.' Neku turned back around after dropping his phone off and met eyes with Shiki, who was smiling at him. He blushed and went back to his seat like an embarrassed fool. He sat down and sank into his chair, trying to ignore everyone, something he was growing good at.

Shiki leaned forward in her seat and whispered in Neku's ear, "Where's Joshua today, anyway?" Obviously, this cell phone fiasco had caused her to think of him. That boy always had one in his hand.

It took until that moment to realize Shiki was onto something. Just the other day, Joshua had approached Neku, in an ambiguously gay fashion, and mentioned that he'd be telling him something very important about something equally important…but Neku tried his hardest to block it from his mind.

Just then, his phone beeped again, now at the teacher's desk. Irritated, the teacher turned from the whiteboard and turned Neku's cell phone off.

'Good idea…' Neku thought, sensing the many eyes lock onto him. Through the snickers and whispers, Neku regained his composure and continued to ignore mathematical lecture.

Neku, Shiki, and Joshua did not share a homeroom with Beat, so they didn't get to see him until after school, from when he was commonly missing due to detentions and other indefinite punishments. This day, however, he went without any troublesome outbursts. The three met right outside the school gates.

"S'up, Phones?" Beat asked, grabbing Neku's hand and pulling him in for a pound on the back.

"Speaking of, Beat, Neku got a strange message in class today." Shiki said, pushing up her glasses.

"From who, yo?" Beat asked, letting go of Neku to allow the boy to take out his phone.

"Joshua," Neku replied, handing his cell to the skater, "Check it."

"Aight… 'the 4 horsemen ride. all pale. to kill: suicide, homicide, and dreariness. all into metal.' The hell does it mean, yo?" Beat asked, looking up at the other two.

"That isn't all. Check the next message." Neku said, leaning on a nearby wall.

Beat looked back at the phone and did so. He read, "'I killed the Composer. I killed the Reaper's Game. I killed all hope. You're next, proxy-boy.'" Beat looked back at Neku with a look of serious confusion, "I don' get it. What's this all mean, yo?"

"It sounds like whoever sent that unknown message killed Joshua…" Shiki began.

"I know dat, yo! I'm talkin' about pretty-boy's message, anyway!"

Shiki nodded and put a finger to her chin in thought. "Joshua was very vague. If he were to have been killed, it makes sense that he'd send such a short and grammatically incorrect message before his death…"

"--Or during," Neku added, taking his phone back and checking it over again, "Bastard _would_ make his final words confusing."

Shiki sniffled, causing Neku and Beat to glare at her. "I'm sorry," she muttered, "But, what if Joshua is really dead? I mean, is that even possible?"

"After what happened last year, I'm inclined to believe anything's possible." Neku replied. He thought of the time when he thought Joshua had sacrificed himself to protect him from Minamimoto's level imaginary flare attack. Turned out that Joshua was some sort of Jesus. "Let's see if his message had some sort of meaning behind it. Maybe it could clear some stuff up."

The four horsemen ride.

"What…Death, war, plague, and what else?" Shiki asked.

"Doesn't matter. Next sentence says 'all pale.' That means that all the horsemen he's talking about are of Death." Neku said.

"Whoa, creepy, ain't it?" Beat whispered.

"Okay, so there are some guys riding horses of Death. So, what does that mean?"

To kill: suicide, homicide, and dreariness.

"Dreariness doesn't really have anything to do with killing. Why is that on the list after 'to kill'?" Neku asked himself aloud.

"Yo, Neku!!" the three heard someone call from the distance.

They looked down and saw Sanae Hanekoma, the man Neku just knew was more than meets the eye, walking toward them with a smile.

"Mr. Hanekoma!" Shiki exclaimed, smiling in return.

"Hey, Shiki. And hey, Daisukeno--"

"BWUAAH!!" Beat shouted, flailing his arms around like an idiot.

"It's okay, dude, we know your real name…" Neku muttered under his breath.

Hanekoma gave the three a cool look as he pulled out his cell phone. "You got this message, right, Neku?" he asked.

It was the exact same message from Joshua.

"Whoa, how'd you get that?" Neku asked, surprised.

"He sent it to both of us, it appears. You have any idea what it means?"

"You mean you don't?" Beats said, grinning. 'Finally, someone as dumb as me!' he thought.

"No, I get it," Hanekoma replied, crushing Beat's joy with a six ton press, "I just wanted to make sure you understood it. Neku," he said, grabbing hold of Neku's shoulders, "Joshua is seriously gone. And his killer is someone far worse than Minamimoto, Kitaniji, or anyone else you've ever faced."

"Faced? Wait, I'm not going back to the UG, if that's what you're getting at!" Neku cried, shaking Hanekoma off with a hysterical expression.

"The UG is gone. It's been gone. But this guy pulled what was left of it into the RG, making what Joshua and I have been calling the RUG, the real-underground."

"Wait," Beat interjected, grinning again, "The rug? You guys be living in a rug? That's whack, yo!"

"Not rug, RUG!" Shiki snapped, getting some well-needed silence from Beat. "Continue, please, Mr. Hanekoma."

"Thanks. Now, in the RUG, Reapers and Angels still have full power. Luckily, most Reapers don't know that; they just know they're not in the UG anymore."

"What about the plane the Noise fight on? Is that still around?" Neku asked.

"Yes. The Reaper that killed Joshua has an obsession with Noise. For some reason, the Noise accept him as one of their own."

"Wait, this is all getting too weird for me. If it means fighting some more and all that crap, leave me out of it." Neku said, beginning to walk away. He only got a few steps before Hanekoma said what he didn't want to hear.

"But you're a part of it now, proxy."

Neku sighed and turned back to face the three. "If he's dead, who am I a surrogate to?"

"The Reaper," Hanekoma said, adjusting his shades, "He took the spot from right under your nose."

"But I didn't even want it! He can be the stupid Composer for all I care!"

"Here's the thing: I'm not sure he wants it either. But I think he may want _you_ to have it." Hanekoma replied, "The RUG is much more dangerous than the UG, remember. Now that this Reaper is targeting you, the Noise will follow suite. Watch yourself, Neku…" And with that, Hanekoma trailed off, heading back for Cat Street.

* * *

Meanwhile, a young Reaper by the name of Kariya walked slowly through the Miyashita Park Underpass. A train could be heard rumbled overhead as Kariya stopped to stare at some new graffiti that caught his eye. It was bold, bolder than he'd seen in awhile. Kariya always appreciated graffiti, but something about this made him sick. At the bottom of the bloody mess, it read, "The Rise of Death Metal." Not one for death metal, Kariya decided to ignore it and casually walk away. But he stopped when he felt a strange presence behind him.

"You diggin' my art, man?" the man asked.

Kariya turned to see who it was. No one familiar, just some random tagger punk. Taking the lollipop out of his mouth, Kariya replied, "It's too busy."

Sudden;y, the guy burst out laughing. "Busy?!" he exclaimed, "This ain't nothing compared to a fine-ass piece of death metal!"

Kariya raised an eyebrow at the man. Obviously, he had some sort of obsession with the uncommon musical genre.

"Like a sadistic sweep-picking solo, or a brutal breakdown, this masterpiece stands as the only testimony to my rise to controlling Shibuya." The man grinned, flashing a small fang.

Kariya's grinned and spun his lollipop between his fingers. "You're that Reaper from out west...Korasu; am I right?"

"You're bloody right, bitch, and I hope you're just as ready." Korasu said menacingly, pointing a highly accessorized arm at Kariya.

"For what?"

"Your death."


	2. Chapter 2

Hey

Hey! So, um, I got to feeling this may actually be a little confusing to those with smaller intellects, but that changes nothing. I challenge people to attempt to decipher Joshua's message. (It should be painfully obvious by the end of this chapter. Shoulda challenged readers in the last chapter.) Anyone who is right gets a free MYSTERY GIFT!! Lulz. And if you're wrong or don't guess, then you don't read for comprehension at all, do you? Now, for the next installment of _A Pacification With Erasure_…

"_Are we so absorbed in the pursuit of knowledge that we neglect to see the evident?"_

Beat began to skate home, dodging people left and right. He did not live so far away from his school, but he hurried to make good time. Today he had business to discuss with Rhyme, if she could comprehend it. Neku had said that it would be wise not to tell her about Joshua, and even the Composer himself agreed to it. So young Rhyme was kept in the dark, until today, thought Beat.

He shredded around a tight corner and hopped of his deck, catching it under his right arm. From there he proceeded to walk toward the back door of an apartment complex, in which he lived on the top floor. Entering it and starting for the stairs, he pulled off his hat and let it drag behind him. The news of pretty-boy's death meant he would probably have to assist Phones in solving the mystery and fighting the inevitable fight. Possibly for the future of Shibuya.

Beat opened the door to his apartment and was instantly greeted by Rhyme, who had somehow gotten home before he did.

"Hello, Daisukenojo. How was school today?" she asked amiably.

Beat sighed and sat down in the chair around the corner. "Yo, Rhyme. I got some bad news," he said, keeping his gaze fixed on the ground. He couldn't dare look into her innocent eyes and say what he was about to say.

"What is it?" she asked with a hint of legitimate confusion in her voice.

"Phones and I… We gotta fight Noise one more time. For Shibuya." He tried his hardest not to look at her, but he failed. She was already on the verge of tears, letting her arms drop to her sides pathetically.

Beat breathed in sharply and grabbed hold of her, pulling her in for a tight embrace. "It's aight, Rhyme. You don' gotta come with us. I _want_ you to stay outta it, ya hear me?"

Rhyme said nothing, just held onto Beat. She didn't even stir. Then she unexpectedly stepped out of his grip with a smile. "Be extra careful, you hear _me_?" she asked. There were still tears in her eyes, but she was nonetheless very mature.

Beat stared at her, astonished, but then met her smile with one of his own and nodded his head.

Kariya jumped back and hid behind a pillar to catch his breath. It was true what the Reaper's outside Shibuya lines said about Korasu; he was _obscenely_ powerful. Kariya was sort of relieved, though, when he dodged Korasu's first attack. It obviously took a lot out of the man. He hadn't used an attack as powerful since. Still, however, his battle skills were beyond Kariya's level of detection. Korasu had an unorthodox style of attacks. It was rare for a Reaper specializing in blast attacks to street fight, which is what Korasu seemed to be doing. Not to mention his speed. Kariya could still keep an eye on him, but he couldn't seem to react fast enough to block or dodge.

"Good thing I can take a punch…" Kariya whispered to himself. He peeked around the corner of the pillar, but could see nothing. His plan was to make a break for it and tell Uzuki about what's happening. All he could do in the mean time was get her to hear it. He slipped his hand into his pants' pocket and dialed her number. Leaving the phone on and in his pocket, he ran the risk of her yelling "What?!" and attracting Korasu to his location. --Too late.

Korasu appeared in front of him with his fist locked behind his head, ready for a punch. Kariya rolled out of the way and caught a glimpse of Korasu's impact with the pillar--straight through it.

"What have you done to the UG?" Kariya asked, hoping Uzuki was paying close attention.

Korasu casually stood up straight and put his hands in his pockets. "I rocked its vibes with some of mine and pulled it into the RG. Reversed its polarity, if you dig," he said, "But what's really a mystery is how you're putting up such a good defense. I eradicated the Composer with my strongest blast, whereas you dodged it. And here I was thinking you were some lowly Harrier."

A train could be heard rolling overhead as the two stood-off.

"I got one more question before we continue this," Kariya said.

"What may that be?"

"What's that behind you?!" Kariya exclaimed, pointing past Korasu.

Like a gullible idiot, Korasu looked and received a blast to the face from some sort of gun-like weapon, sending him to the ground.

Kariya ran around another pillar, and Uzuki followed.

"That was quick," he said, turning his phone off.

"I was in the neighborhood. Who the heck is this guy?" Uzuki asked, holding her gun up in a ready position.

"A nightmare…"

Korasu stood up, with blood gushing from his forehead down his face. "What the fuck was that?!" he shouted, looking around violently.

"Wow, he's pretty resilient," Uzuki muttered, about to jump out and shoot him again. For her protection, Kariya grabbed her by the arm and held her back. "Let me go, I can take him!" she snapped.

"No. I've been running from this guy for a good ten minutes. What makes you think that he's weak enough for you to take out?"

"Are you making fun of me?"

"No, just being realistic…" Kariya murmured, glancing back around the corner. Again, he could see nothing. "So here's the plan," he continued, looking back at Uzuki…only to find her gone as well.

Neku sulked into his room and dived onto his bed, burying his head in his pillow. He laid there for a long while, thinking. Eventually, he rolled over and examined the shadows on his ceiling. On the smooth white surface, he played memories from his mind like a projector: waking up in Scramble Crossing, meeting Shiki, taking down Ram-crotch, meeting Joshua, meeting Pi-face, Beat, Rhyme, Kariya, Uzuki, Hanekoma, and all the others. He closed his eyes to stop the projection in dismay. Will he have to repeat it all? Fight with psychs yet again?

Reaching over to an end table, he opened the cupboard and pulled out a pin. It was his first battle pin, with the flames on it. Remembering what Mr. Hanekoma had said about this new RUG, he laid it on his chest and pointed to the space in front of him.

Nothing.

"Figures," Neku said, rolling over. In that moment, his cell began to ring. Sitting up in a hustle, Neku pulled it out and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Neku? This is Shiki… Can you meet me out in Miyashita Park? I want to talk," said the girl, sounding sort of distressed.

"Sure. I'll be there as soon as I can," Neku replied reassuringly. He bid her a temporary goodbye and ended the call. As he got up off his bed, he saw the pin fall to the floor. He snatched it up and put it in his pocket as he headed out. 'The good old days,' he thought, referring to the year preceding the moment, 'That's what I want. Not this.'

Neku stood in the bus as it was exceptionally but expectedly crowded. He watched the people go in and out, and so forth. To his left, a stout man was lifting up a grade-schooler's skirt, catching full view of her cotton panties. 'Save it for the sub-train.' Neku thought, looking away. To his right, an older teen or young adult --Neku wasn't sure either way-- was playing on a handheld gaming device, mashing away at the buttons. He had a handkerchief around his mouth with the general 'power-on' symbol on it. His large zipped-up sweatshirt bore the same symbol. One thing that stood out terribly was that his hands were black and he only had four large pointed fingers on each. It looked like wires were going through them, but Neku thought it disturbing and glanced at the woman next to the man/teen gamer. Her hair was standing on end, much like the man on the other side of the gamer, as well as his female friend next to him. It appeared that the gamer was emitting some pretty wicked electrostatic.

The bus abruptly stopped at Miyshita Park, and some people, including Neku, departed. Looking behind him, he saw the gamer with his eyes glued to his device's screen. Before him sat Shiki, on a bench, staring blankly at Mr. Mew.

"Hey, what did you want to talk about?" Neku asked, sitting next to her.

She glanced at him with an expression Neku knew all too well. "I want to talk about Joshua's message again."

Neku rolled his eyes and turned away.

"Come on, Neku!" Shiki cried, standing up, "You can't possibly dismiss this like that! Joshua is dead, and his killer is coming for _you_!"

"Don't remind me,"

"Then let's do something about it!"

"Ugh, fine…" Neku closed his eyes and recited the message, "The four horsemen ride, all pale. To kill: suicide, homicide, and dreariness. All into metal…"

"Suicide, homicide, and dreariness…You think that maybe those are names?"

"There's a few ways to say those words."

"And, 'to kill.' Was he trying to put these names on a hit-list, or something?"

"I guess it's possible…To kill suicide, homicide, and dreariness, huh?"

The two looked up as a large figure was blocking their sunlight. Neku reasoned it was the gamer from the bus without his gaming device out.

"You two spark-plugs need some troubleshooting?" he asked. His voice was very raspy and ghostly.

"Not unless you can make sense of this message," Neku said, taking out his phone and displaying Joshua's text.

The gamer stared at it for a while then spoke up, "Try some kanji. Read with an open processor here," he said, pointing to the line in question, "Unless that's too pixilated for you, I believe it could help out." Then he walked off.

"Processor?" Shiki asked Neku, who shrugged. "Kanji makes it translate to… 'korasu: jisatsu, satsujin, sappukei. That still doesn't help…"

The gamer reappeared before them in an instant. He seemed embarrassed, but his 'moutherchief' blocked most expression. "Sorry to bother you, but I need some debugging… Can you point out to a jaded kilobyte where the Underpass is? Thanks, I don't have enough memory on my main driver for a map."

Not sure whether he was making an obscure reference to his brain or just talking about some nerd device of his, Neku pointed toward the Underpass, which was below them. The gamer nodded at them and headed off. Just as the man was out of view, Neku and Shiki's hair stood on end.

"Whoa, what is this, static?" Shiki asked, trying futilely to pat it down.

"Something about that guy…" Neku said, "He knows something, I swear to God he knows something. You could see it in his eyes."

"Neku--" Shiki began, but Neku had already gotten up off of the bench and began pursuit of the gamer. She got up to chase after him, but was nowhere near as quick. By the time she made it to the Underpass, she could see Neku standing still in a low position. Shiki tip-toed to him and kneeled, catching full sight of what he was observing: Uzuki leaned up against a wall, bleeding from the side of her head. There was also a hole in her stomach, and Kariya was standing over her with his palm over his face. "Neku," Shiki whispered, but Neku stood up.

"Yo!" he called.

Kariya looked over at them and sighed. He was obviously grieved by the sight of Uzuki.

"What happened?" Neku asked, making his way toward Kariya, trying to look away from the sickening sight.

"A crazy powerful Reaper from outside Shibuya came and went on a rampage. Either that or I'm still dreaming." Kariya replied, kneeling down to pick up his comrade.

"Is she-- dead?" Shiki asked, once she was next to Neku.

"Somehow, no," Kariya muttered, starting back for the park, "But I gotta get her outta here. See y'all some other time…"

"Wait!" Neku exclaimed.

Kariya looked back, sort of annoyed.

"Did you see a guy with a handkerchief around his mouth and only eight fingers walk by here?"

Kariya shook his head, thinking of that description as ridiculous.

When the Harrier was out of view, Neku turned to Shiki, frowning. "That proves it."

"Proves what?"

"Reapers have all their power here. But I still can't use any psychs."

"You tried it?"

"Yup. Can you control Mr. Mew?"

Shiki looked down at the stuffed cat in her arms. "No." she whispered.

"Then this is extra dangerous for me… Come on; let's get Beat and go see Mr. Hanekoma."

The girl nodded and the two began for Beat's apartment, praying he was home. It was only a matter of time before the Noise showed up.

Korasu stood on top of a building, watching the sun set between two skyscrapers. There was a cool breeze from the east, blowing his hair out of his face for full view of the scene. Being a man for cities, just about everything was perfect.

"There you are, Korasu," said the gamer as he came up the stairs from behind.

Korasu looked back at met eyes with the gamer. With a toothy grin, he greeted, "S'up Circuit Kei? When'd you get here?"

"I just finished rendering myself in Shibuya about an hour or so ago. I saw what you did to that pink-haired girl. You left her alive, holding to her last byte of life?" Kei asked, strolling over in his hunched over stance. He stopped a few feet behind Korasu and watched the sun as well.

"Proxy-boy was coming. I didn't want to rock his world yet." Korasu replied, reaching out to grab the sun as it began to full behind the other buildings.

"But didn't you design the OG so that Player psychs wouldn't function?"

"Yes, but I don't want him to know that yet either…" he tried to wrap his hand around the sun to hold its energy for just another moment. But just then, the light escaped the horizon. Korasu preferred darkness anyway.

"So, did you hear back from the other wire-tanglers yet?" Kei asked.

Korasu turned from the building's edge and faced him. "Of course one of those douche bags has yet to reply. And the other sent me seven full pages of text that abbreviated to, 'Yes, I'll be there in a few days.'"

"Expected. For both of them." Kei said. Then he noticed Korasu had an injury on his forehead. A cut, with some dried blood under it. "Where was your firewall when _that_ virus hit?"

"Oh, this? Some fugly bitch shot me with a damn gun when my back was turned. It's nothing, really." Korasu replied, waving his hand through the air, dismissing the subject.

'From behind? Then how'd you get shot in the face?' Kei thought to himself. But he too ignored the details and followed his friend down the stairs.

"It's getting late, guys. What do you need?" Hanekoma asked, finally approaching a table with Neku, Shiki, and Beat seated at it.

"Yo, where were you? We the only ones here, so what took you so long to get here?" Beat exclaimed, irritated.

"I had to make a few calls. You know, official important guy business," Hanekoma replied calmly, "Now, what do you need?"

"Neku and I met a guy who we think is a Reaper today," Shiki began, "He might have something to do with Joshua's message."

"You think this guy you met is _him_?" Hanekoma asked.

"We followed him to the Underpass and saw another Reaper all tore up. Obviously, he did it." Neku said, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed.

"But Kariya did say that he didn't see the guy we were after…" Shiki added as an afterthought.

Neku remained silent at this.

"So is that it?" Hanekoma asked. He seemed very impatient.

"No way, yo," Beat said, tapping his foot against the ground rapidly, "We want answers, know what I'm sayin'?"

"I told you all you gotta know. Figure the rest out yourself."

"My life is at risk, dammit!" Neku shouted, slamming his fists against the table and rising to his feet.

There was a pause in movement. The only thing that was moving was Neku's racing heart.

"Your life's at risk everyday, whether or not you're doing anything to get yourself in trouble," Hanekoma said.

Neku's mouth was agape.

"Recall this: You were standing there, digging my work at the Udagawa Backs. Suddenly, a dude with a gun runs up and shoots you. Sure, he was aiming for the dude behind you, but _you_ died, Neku." Hanekoma explained, heading for the back room of his café. "And this time there isn't a Composer with his eye on you to bring you to the UG. Place doesn't even exist anymore. Watch yourself, Neku." The man disappeared around the corner of the back room.

The three sat silently, stricken by Mr. Hanekoma's painful precision. Beat was about to say something, but then shook his head and crossed his arms.

"Fuckin'… Bitch…" he whispered under his breath.

"…We have to get you to safety…" Shiki said softly, giving Neku a fleeting look.

Neku breathed into his collar impatiently. Waiting for the inevitable meeting was worse than the meeting itself, he decided.

Hey, it's me again. This chapter was meant to be much longer, but I ran short on time, so I'll just throw the extra stuff into the next chapter. Another Reaper will join soon. Some important flashbacks will ensue, showing the relationship between these Reapers, and Neku will learn something very useful from an unexpected person-- something that could protect him from Korasu. Oooh, suspense.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE of the fic

CHAPTER THREE of the fic

This next chapter will put me up against the most difficult fictional dialogue I have ever written, and will test my abilities as a writer and fan. I hope I don't fail, but please, bear with me. I'm not bad, right? I've heard that my dialogue for Kei was pretty clever, even if I don't think so… Maybe I'm being too hard on myself. Let's find out…

* * *

"_Absolute power is established not through destruction, but through creation."_

Neku sat at his desk after coming to the conclusion that he may not be there to sit at it ever again. He needed some sort of safeguard from a surprise attack by a Reaper he's never met. He needed protection, but how? The only two guys Neku knew would have any leads were either dead or unwilling to talk. As the science teacher walked in late, he took some time to explain what he was doing. It seemed that a new student had defaced the roof of the school.

Neku looked back and noticed that Shiki wasn't there. 'Please don't make me feel any worse,' he thought, tossing his head back, wincing at his migraine. Something could have happened to her, and there was no way Neku could sit in class all day and think about it. So when his science teacher left after class, Neku made his escape before his math teacher could spot him. Darting to the school gates, Neku saw Beat's shoulder from around the corner.

"Hey, Beat!" Neku called as quietly as he could.

Beat turned around and motioned for Neku to come quick.

Doing so, Neku slipped between the partially opened gates and went over to Beat.

"Yo, Phones. Check that…" Beat said, pointing to the roof of the school.

Neku looked and saw a large junk pile, standing well over ten feet, visible from a mile away. "It can't be…" Neku muttered, thinking back to the Game. Suddenly, he sprinted back into the school, with Beat following.

Teachers saw them run past, but did nothing to stop them as the two climbed the staircase to the roof. Neku swung the door open and ran out into the open, stopping a few feet from the junk pile.

A note on it read, "Any number can be factored to zero. I am unconditional!"

"Whas that mean, yo?" Beat asked as he stood next to Neku, breathing heavily.

"…I think he's saying that he's better than death…" Neku said, mystified. Neku grabbed the note turned it over.

"Ikebukuro," it read.

* * *

"Uh-oh," Kei said, staring at his phone.

"What?" Korasu asked, turning to him. The two Reapers were in a difficult to find Gatito clothing shop in Shinjuku, just a few blocks from Shibuya.

"One of our cams caught a giant junk pile on a building," Kei replied, putting his phone away and giving Korasu a grave glare.

"So? Clean it up or something them if you're so environmentally conscience," Korasu replied, pulling out a nice sweatshirt from the rack of clothes he was by.

"Don't you process that? A junk pile could mean the blue screen of death for your plans, Koro,"

Korasu looked back at him confusedly. "Why? Is proxy-boy gonna hide in it? I don't see what--" Korasu paused, looking off into space momentarily. "Wait," he whispered, "You remember back in Ikebukuro when we were still fresh to the Game?"

Kei titled his head to one side. "Yeah. So?"

"We met that guy," Korasu began…

"_So, what are you gonna do when you're GM, Koro?" Kei asked. It was early in the morning, and the two Harrier partners were heading toward Ikebukuro's main scramble crossing._

"_Kill everyone on the first day," Korasu replied, putting his hands behind his head._

"_What?! You can't do that! It's against the rules!"_

"_Screw the rules, I have skills. I'm not gonna waste them. I'd just as soon kill everyone right away and head straight for the top from there."_

"_That's not the Game's purpose," Kei said, placing his palm on his forehead._

"_Kill everything; promise nothing. I'll be Composer eventually, and then we'll see how the Game is run…"_

"_Hey you radians," called a voice from before them._

_The two looked up and saw a hip young Reaper much like themselves standing by a large heap of useless items._

"_Did you say you wanted to become Composer?" he asked, adjusting his hat._

"_Yeah. What of it?" Korasu asked._

"_Don't bother. There is only one solution for x, and its name is Sho Minamimoto." The Reaper replied, pointing to himself._

"Yeah," Korasu said, still looking of into space, "That son of a bitch got pretty close, if my memory serves me right."

"What ever happened to him?" Kei asked.

"I guess he died. But if he were still alive, now would be the time to take the Composer's seat." Korasu replied, returning the sweatshirt from his hands to the rack.

Kei checked his phone. "It's getting kind of late. Any objections to getting in the queue at that fancy place down the street? It's a solid hot spot for wi-fi." He said, pointing towards the door of the shop.

"Sure," Korasu replied, leading the way out.

* * *

"We're in Ikebukuro," Neku said, looking around, "That's where his note said."

"But where's he at, yo?" Beat asked, standing next to Neku, watching his back.

"Ikebukuro is a big place. Maybe he left another junk pile for us to find." Neku suggested.

"So we gotta get to higher ground… This might be a trap, yo."

"I know. Watch yourself," Neku said, heading for a random building. Their plan was to get atop the highest buildings in Ikebukuro and seek out more piles of junk. A simple plan, gone horribly wrong. Hours later, and the two boys had not come across any leads. They rested on the roof of a hotel, the sharp winds blowing their sweat away.

"Damn it, man," Beat said, breathing heavily, "Where _is_ that creep?"

"Maybe he was just trying to keep us away from something back in Shibuya?" Neku brought up, looking equally, if not more, exhausted.

"Shiki's missin' too, yo. Somethin' strange is up."

"Yeah."

The two sat, catching their breath, when a wave of static went through the air. The two had not noticed, but a Noise had followed them: a Bebop Shark. It swam through the ground between the two, and, out of the corner of their eyes, they saw it… But it was too late. The Noise burst through the ground, jaws open, ready to attack.

"TANGENT!!"

A series of quick energy blasts came from nowhere and struck the Noise on the nose, taking the creature down instantly.

Neku and Beat, both scared out of their mind, looked to where the blasts had come from only to find Sho Minamimoto standing before them wearing their school's uniform.

"Well square my hypotenuse and call me Pythagoras," he said, walking toward them with his hands in his pockets, "You came."

"Pi-face!!" Neku cried, "You're alive!"

"More than alive! I'm the only unconditional in this zetta crazy equation!" Minamimoto shouted, taking his pose which looked like he was attempting to power up or something.

"Tabooty! We was lookin' for you all day! Where the hell were you?" Beat asked, ready to punch Minamimoto in the face.

"Relax, kid," the Taboo'd Reaper replied, "I'm trying to keep a low profile. That rogue radian is a powerful son of a digit, understand?"

"So you put a large pile of junk on the roof of our school?" Neku asked, crossing his arms.

"Not one of my best ideas," Minamimoto said, turning away, "But I had to get your attention somehow. While you factoring heptopascals were running around being ignorant as to the presence of our rogue, I solved for y and finally figured out what he's doing. I came to tell you."

"But why, yo?"

"Yeah, why would _you_ want to help us? Is something in it for you?" Neku asked.

Minamimoto grinned and gave the sun a good final look before it disappeared behind the skyscrapers. "You want the slope? Then you gotta figure how high you will rise, and how far you'll run," he stated, "Understand?"

* * *

Shiki floated through a vast pallid emptiness in an unconscious state of being. She, again for the first time in a year, inhabited the body of her friend Eri, with Mr. Mew under her arm.

An immeasurable distance from her, a short man with hair covering all of his face but one eye examined his surrounds… or lack thereof.

"Impressive," he said to himself, keeping his hands behind his back at all times. He turned his head slightly and saw a girl drifting through the white space and flew over to her. "And where did you come from?" he asked quietly knowing full well she was unconscious. He reached out toward her and a distorting barrier formed around her, covering her with a checkerboard pattern. "Let us make our first move into the new Shibuya together, shall we?" he asked the girl. Then they both vanished in a transition of black and white squares.

* * *

"That was some fine unspoiled pieces of animal corpses," Korasu said, rubbing his exposed belly.

"What a disturbing way of putting it…" Kei muttered. Then his phone suddenly rang to a song from MegaMan 9.

"What's up?" Korasu asked, glimpsing at the phone.

"Noise number 1,394 was trashed like a spam file," Kei replied, putting the phone away.

"What? Only a Reaper could have done that." Korasu said.

"Maybe one of those two that you pummeled?"

"No, I have a weird feeling on this one. Where was the Noise stationed?"

"Somewhere in Ikebukuro, but--"

"Come on then, we gotta hurry." Korasu began to sprint at a superhuman pace right through people as he headed toward the other part of Tokyo.

Kei stood in his dust, writing a quick text message before he too ran prodigiously to Ikebukuro.

* * *

It wasn't too long before Neku, Beat, and Minamimoto decided that it was late and they should be heading home. Minamimoto explained how he will be attending their school from then on, but he would be in the highest grade, and not in either of their classes. Also, he said that he had nowhere to live. Neku wasn't about to let the still untrustworthy Reaper live with him and his parents. Beat felt the same. Neku offered Shiki's place for her and remembered that she was missing.

"Geez, I'm an idiot," he muttered, sitting on the edge of the building.

"Oh yeah. She's been gone all day," Beat said.

"Who are you radians talking about?" Minamimoto asked.

"Shiki Misaki. I don't know if you ever met her, but she was my partner my first time through the Game," Neku explained, recalling the times.

"You call her yet, Phones?" Beat asked.

"Of course. She didn't pick up."

"Maybe she's sick, yo?"

"Yeah, maybe…"

Minamimoto stared at the two in a very uninterested manner. "Well, until you guys calculate a real place for me to crash, I'll go see Sanae."

"Mr. Hanekoma?!" Neku and Beat exclaimed simultaneously.

"Yeah. He and I have some stuff to graph."

"Well, well, well! Looks like the renegade Reaper lives on!" a voice shouted, coming from multiple directions.

Neku, Beat, and Minamimoto took fighting stances all back to back.

"Who's there?" Minamimoto asked.

Before them appeared Korasu and Kei in an amorphous cloud of static. Korasu grinned showing his snaggletooth fang while Kei began to emit his constant electrostatic waves through the air.

'It's that gamer dude from a while back,' Neku noticed, looking at Kei.

"What the digit do you want?" Minamimoto asked, keeping the tangent blast in his palm fixed on Korasu.

"So this is proxy-boy in person, huh?" Korasu nonchalantly crossed his arms and tilted his head back, examining the now sixteen year old boy.

"Who the hell are you?" Neku asked, refusing to let his guard down.

"I'm the guy who'll be ending you all very shortly," Korasu replied.

"He's the mofo who killed pretty-boy, yo!" Beat whispered.

There was a slight pause in movement while the five stood-off. Suddenly, Minamimoto unleashed his attack. The ball of energy flew like a bullet right past the two Reapers as they both dodged it with little effort. Immediately after his dodge, Korasu shot a blast of his own from his palm at Minamimoto. A direct hit, but not a kill. Instead, Minamimoto fell over, shaking violently as a drape of darkness formed around him.

"Close," Korasu said, now aiming at Neku, "This guy I know has the power to fuck me up. Good thing we dodged it, right, Kei?"

Kei nodded, keeping an eye on Beat to make sure he didn't try anything funny.

"Stop the clock." a monotone voice murmured, also coming out of thin air. Then a checkerboard pattern formed between Korasu and Neku and there appeared the short Reaper with the barely visible face.

"Jisatsu, what are you doing?" Korasu asked angrily, "I can kill him right now! Get outta the goddamn way!"

"That is against the rules," Jisatsu replied calmly. He spoke very slowly, but had an intelligent if not boring tone to him.

"Screw the rules!!" Korasu shouted.

"They're _your_ rules, Korasu," Jisatsu said, glaring at him, "In this OverGround you've created, rules must be upheld," he then turned his head to Neku, "Besides; I have a gift for this boy."

"What?" Neku asked.

Another checkerboard appeared and from it came the unconscious body of Shiki. The old Shiki, not in the form of Eri.

"It's Shiki!" Beat exclaimed.

Jisatsu went back to Korasu. "I found her in what's left of the UG. Perhaps you should increase your defenses around the opening, lest you desire checkmate."

Korasu dropped his arm and breathed in sharply. "Damn it…" he whispered. Then he turned away and disappeared.

Kei nodded at Jisatsu and followed in Korasu's wake.

"Pi-face!" Neku said, arriving at the Reaper's side. "What did that belly-shirted guy do to him?"

"Reformatted him, it appears." Jisatsu stated, looking off at the hardly visible moon.

"Who are you, yo? Friend or foe?" Beat asked.

"Foe," Jisatsu replied, "I am allied with Korasu. To put it into perspective, Korasu is the king, Kei is the bishop, and that makes me the knight. Keep and eye out for the rook. He should be making the first move…a strong opener." Then he suddenly disappeared with a checkerboard transition.

"Chess? Wait, then who's the queen, yo?" Beat asked himself aloud.

"Beat, help me by carrying Minamimoto," Neku said while picking Shiki up from off the ground and carrying her, "We're going all the way to Mr. Hanekoma's."

* * *

Hmm…That could have gone better, dialogue-wise. However, I am glad to have made the attempt. Where would I be without trying to challenge myself? Now, coming up in the next chapter, the final of the four shows up, Minamimoto begins to make himself useful, and Korasu acts very pissy. And I'm sort of disgruntled with myself that I didn't end this one on a cliffhanger, but oh well. Thanks for reading.


	4. Chapter 4

Hiya. I don't have much to say at this point, but yes, I do realize this can be confusing. If you're cool enough to read up to this point, you noticed it too and want to solve the mysteries. My undying thanks to those people (like you, Vengeance). That's very humbling. Now, let's set things straight: I don't know the first thing about math, I'm confused as to some concepts on chess, and I don't understand a lot of techno-babble. However, if there's one thing I like to think I grasp decently, it's the English language. (If you must know, _I_ create the quotes at the beginning of the chapters…)

"'_Obscure' is, by definition, equivocal."_

* * *

Uzuki's eyes opened and she saw, after regaining focus, the plain white ceilings of a hospital room. She sat up with confusion and felt the most pain ever conceived swarming to her stomach. She leaned over the side of the bed and threw up, missing the trash receptacle by a foot. As she wiped her mouth, she saw blood plague her vomit. Uzuki gasped as a nurse ran in from the hallway and grimaced. She ran back out calling for a doctor in a mildly rushed manner.

'What the hell happened to me?' she thought, leaning back in her bed, which someone had propped up with pillows at some point. Uzuki put a hand on her head and felt bandages wrapped around her forehead, going at a slight angle.

Suddenly, a doctor hustled in the room and threw back the room divider, narrowly avoiding stepping in Uzuki's bloody vomit.

"Get someone to clean this mess up," the doctor said irritably at the nurse, obviously displeased with her. Then he faced Uzuki with a smile and a change of tone. "I see we've awoken finally, yes?" he asked.

"Wh… What happened to me?" she asked softly.

"We weren't told. We pleaded for hours with the man who brought you in to tell us, but he remained silent," the doctor explained, "But he finally said that he'd tell you once you had awakened."

"Who's the man who brought me in?" Uzuki asked.

"His name is Koki. Koki Kariya, I believe." The doctor replied.

The nurse returned with a janitor's bucket, full of ways to clean the mess. She waited behind the doctor as he stood up straight and cleared his throat.

"Yes, visiting hours are over, however. He'll have to come in tomorrow morning and see you. I hope that will do. If you'll excuse me…" the doctor then turned and started for the door.

The nurse began on the clean-up while Uzuki stared blankly at the wall, trying ever so hard to recall what happened to her. The pain in her stomach sort of halted all levelheaded thought, however.

Soon, the nurse packed up and headed out, saying, "It's about 10 o'clock now. I realize you may not be tired, but you still need rest." She shut off the lights and closed the door behind her.

Moonlight shone through the window, and Uzuki was awe-stricken. She watched the beam of light as it placed itself gently upon her bed sheets. She slid her hand across the light and sighed.

The light disappeared. Uzuki looked out the window and saw a thin man with red hair standing in it. He opened the window and hopped in, closing it after he landed safely. Working on a sucker, he stood by her bedside.

"Uzuki, you ready to go?" he asked casually.

"…Uzuki?"

The man paused for a moment. "Uzuki is your name, remember? Do you remember mine?"

"…Koki Kariya?" Uzuki guessed, recalling the name the doctor gave her.

Kariya placed his palm over his face and shook his head. "There's gonna be hell to pay…" he uttered maliciously.

* * *

"I told you guys not to bother me when I'm busy," Hanekoma said, walking out of the back room with his sleeves rolled up to his shoulders. But when he saw Shiki unconscious in Neku's arms and Minamimoto thrown over Beat's back, he rushed to them. "What in the world happened?" he asked, taking Shiki from Neku and laying her across the table behind him.

"Korasu, that's what happened," Neku replied, stretching his scrawny arms.

Hanekoma looked back at them apprehensively. "So you met him, huh?"

"Met him? He tried to kill us, yo!" Beat shouted.

"But he didn't," Hanekoma added, noticing the obvious, "How?"

"Another Reaper came in just in time to stop him. His name was Jisatsu, I think." Neku said. Then his eyes gleamed with enlightenment. Taking out his phone, he opened the text message from Joshua.

To kill: suicide, homicide, and dreariness.

"The gamer guy told Shiki and I to use kanji, meaning that this could be read as 'Korasu: Jisatsu' and so on!" Neku exclaimed, "These are two of the names of who Joshua called the four horsemen!"

"Aw sweet, yo!" Beat said after he sat Minamimoto up against the wall.

"That gamer dude has to be one of them. Either Satsujin or Sappukei."

"Korasu called him Kei, right?"

"Yeah! Then the Nerd-Herder is probably named Sappukei!"

"Good to see you finally figured it out," Hanekoma said, placing his hands on Shiki's wrist, checking her pulse.

"Did you know this whole time?" Neku asked crossly.

"I did," Hanekoma replied, focused more on Shiki than Neku, "But Joshua told me not to tell you anything. The day before he was killed, he received a message from Korasu telling him to meet him in A-East. Joshua was of course suspicious, so he called me and told me what would happen. He said he'd send a message to his proxy if something were to happen, and instructed me to tell you nothing. Believe me Neku; I didn't want to stay quiet--"

"So why did you?" Neku questioned, tightening his fists.

Hanekoma looked back at him with a frown.

"Because of you, Minamimoto got shot, I was almost killed, and something happened to Shiki!" Neku cried, practically yelling at the top of his lungs.

Beat stood back with his hand on his shoulder.

"If you were to have told me what to expect from day one, all of this crap could have been prevented!" Neku continued, holding back his tears the best he could.

"I'm sorry," Hanekoma declared solemnly.

"Sorry won't wake Shiki up!" Neku snapped, swinging his arm across the space before him. Realizing how he sounded, he added, "Sorry won't wake Pi-face up either…"

Hanekoma placed his hands on Neku's shoulders and stared him square in the eyes. "Shiki will be alright," he said quietly, "She's just unconscious and doesn't have any injuries…"

"What about Tabooty, yo?" Beast asked, feeling it was a good time to give Neku a break.

"What happened to him?"

"He got hit by some attack from the Snaggletoothed Wonder," Beat replied.

Hanekoma examined the Reaper's body only to find the shroud of darkness enveloping around his skin and permeating through his pores. "He's been… Reformatted?" Hanekoma asked himself. He stood up and took of his shades, wiping the dust off of them with his shirt. "This isn't good," he said.

"What?" Neku asked.

"I don't know how Korasu does these things, but he's reformatted Minamimoto."

"Jisatsu said that too. What the hell does that mean?"

"It means, Neku, that Sho Minamimoto is no longer a Reaper."

Neku and Beat's jaws dropped.

Before continuing, Hanekoma put his shades back on. "He can't use his Reaper powers and is just like you two are now."

"We-well, can he get them back?" Neku asked, now more frightened than ever of Korasu's powers.

"Maybe. I've never heard of anyone doing it… But I've never even seen a reformatting before."

Shiki made a very feminine noise and blinked few times.

"Shiki!" Neku cried, running to her side.

The girl sat up and pushed up her glasses. "What happened?" she inquired.

"That's what I was gonna ask you," Neku said, smiling and relieved she was alright. His worries for the time being had faded.

"I was walking by the Concert Stage when I saw a tiny bright light coming from inside. I went in to examine it, but lost consciousness when the light got really big and blinded me." Shiki said.

Suddenly Neku broke down. He lowered his head and let loose his tears, right in front of Shiki.

"Neku? What's wrong?" she asked, confusedly.

"Ever since this guy came to Shibuya," Neku began, his voice shaking, "Everyone has suffered. Even Kariya and Minamimoto… This has to stop. We have to stop Korasu!"

"Then let's factor that zetta son of a digit…" Minamimoto whispered, sitting up against the wall.

Everyone looked at him, surprised that he was awake.

"Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally," Minamimoto continued, "I may have lost all my Reaper powers, but I can still instruct you three how to fight against this rogue." He struggled to stand. As no one offered to help him, it took a few tries before he regained his footing. "Let's derive that radian."

* * *

"Lower your frame rate, Koro," Kei said, watching his old partner run back and forth looking for something in the Concert Stage.

"I won't rest until I fix this muck-up I made," Korasu replied, angrily pacing back and forth.

"Perhaps you should take this time to stand back and formulate a strategy?" Jisatsu recommended, lowering himself from the ceiling to the ground, where he hovered inches above to seem taller.

"Perhaps you should shut up! You popped in at the worst possible time, you know that buddy?" Korasu snapped, jabbing a finger at the Reaper.

"Strike where your opponent isn't looking. Basic tactics. I figured a man of your playing level would have seen it coming."

"Shut it with the obscure chess references!!"

"You have used that word erroneously," a voice boomed, coming from the back of the Concert Stage.

"Is that you, Jin?" Kei asked, looking back.

"Undeniably so. I appear to have arrived with faultless timing, agreed?" Jin replied, walking out of the shadows with a grin. He had long hair separated down the middle and many whiskers across his chin. Overall, he seemed very foreign.

Korasu growled and continued on his ambiguous quest.

A chuckle from Jin indicated he wasn't as boring as Jisatsu, but they still seemed similar in Kei's eyes. The two were partners as Harriers as well, but they must've been one heck of a team to listen to; Jin with his expansive vocabulary, and Jisatsu with his incredibly slow way of speaking. He was sort of proud how he and Korasu handled things back in the day: quick and to the point, if not sometimes against the rules.

"Ah, but I cogitate: Why have you summoned us?" Jin asked.

"You're all with me now," Korasu exclaimed, utterly pissed that he couldn't find what he was looking for.

"As what? Your wall of pawns?" Jisatsu wondered aloud, sitting on the air and crossing his legs as if he were on a throne, "If so, that's a terrible strategy."

"No, we're in it together," Korasu said. He sat next to Kei who was stuffing some potato chips under his moutherchief into his unseen mouth.

"You expect, after all you put us through, our assistance in this quandary you got yourself in?" Jin asked, crossing his arms with a spiteful smirk.

"Yes," Korasu replied, finally standing still.

Jin and Jisatsu looked at each other with doubt. Then they both shrugged in unison.

"I suppose we don't have a choice," Jisatsu muttered, "Once you begin a strategy, you don't back out…"

"Without any metaphors I can agree," Jin added.

"Thanks guys…" Korasu whispered. He turned away and threw his arm over his eye and sniffled pathetically. Rather humorously, really.

'Bizarre that he even experiences emotion…' Jin whispered to himself.

'Is he…crying? Disturbing…' Jisatsu thought.

"Awright!" Kei cried, jumping to his feet, "Let's delete some old programs!"

"Yeah! Let's kick ass!"

"Fine, we will strike quick and precise."

"Youngsters and their misplaced fortitude…"

* * *

Gee, I sort of cut this one short. But quite a bit happened! Or rather, quite a bit will _begin_ _to happen_ in the next (official) chapter. What is Kariya planning? What are the 'Four Horsemen' planning? What is Minamimoto planning?! (I said at the end of chapter three that Minamimoto would become useful, but I lied. He'll become useful soon.) Well, I'm gonna put a cute little filler chapter in next. Don't worry; I have it under control… I'll get right back on track soon. Promise (3)


	5. Chapter 5

Hello there! Thank you for joining me in tonight's special filler chapter! I'm your SUPERCUTE host, Seppie Navi! And, not to sound like every other giddy writer out there, but OHEMGEE MINAMIMOTO IS SO CUTE LOL HE CAN FACTOR ME ANY DAY LOLOLOL… … … …Excuse me. I haven't the faintest idea where that came from… Now! Let's begin!!

"_Is it cliché to begin a chapter with a quote yet?"_

* * *

A lowly Thursday after school infected Neku, Beat, and Shiki with excruciating boredom. The three sat in silence in their emptied classroom, unable to get up and leave due to their lack of energy.

"So… bored…" Neku said, sprawled across two tables.

All of the sudden, the door slammed open and there stood Minamimoto carrying a piece of paper. "Attention all factoring coefficients!" he shouted into a megaphone, causing Neku, Beat, and Shiki to spring to their feet. "What I have here is a challenge! Our school has decided to hold a battle of the bands at A-East, and we're entering!!"

"What?" Beat asked, scratching his head under his hat.

"That's right! And we're gonna zetta rock the house down!" Minamimoto added, crushing the paper in his fist. After a diabolical laugh, he looked over his three band mates. "What instruments can you play?"

"I can play the drums, yo!" Beat exclaimed, feeling proud of himself. "I used to play bass, but I gave it up for the wooden sticks, feel me?"

"I can play bass," Neku said, "I play guitar too, but not so well."

"What about you, glasses-chick?" Minamimoto asked.

"Oh, I don't really play…"

"C'mon, Shiki!" Beat cried, beginning to freak out, "It's been a dream of mine to rock down a house wit music, yo! You gotta be in it!"

Shiki thought deeply for a moment. "Well, I can sorta play guitar."

"Really? That's seems odd," Neku said in disbelief.

Back at Neku's house, Shiki picked up a guitar and sat down. She readied the instrument and had Beat plug it into an amp. "Could you get me a pick, Neku?" Shiki asked sweetly.

Neku looked around his room and found a single pick of medium hardness. He handed it to Shiki and took a few steps back.

Shiki placed her left hand's fingers on the F chord and began playing the fastest and best neck riding riff ever conceived.

The boys' jaws dropped.

"How was that?" Shiki asked, laying the guitar on the wall behind her.

"A-amazing!!" Minamimoto cried, "I hereby dedicate you, glasses-chick, as our guitarist!"

"That was tight, yo! How'd you do that, Shiki?" Beast asked.

"Thanks. Eri says I have magic fingers," Shiki said. (Eri: blushing)

"What about you, Pi-face?" Neku inquired, "What instruments do you play?"

"Instruments are garbage! CRUNCH! I'll add it to the heap…" Minamimoto replied instinctively. "Don't you remember?" he asked Neku, poking him on the forehead, "My voice shakes the soul! I'll be the vocalist!"

* * *

Meanwhile, on top of the Concert Stage, three of the "Four Horsemen" Reapers sat quietly. They felt the need to take some time off of their evil plans to relax, as they may not get to while executing said evil plans.

Jin and Jisatsu sat playing a two-layered chess game several feet in the air. Jisatsu would obviously end up winning, but still…

Kei sat on the roof's edge, mashing away on the keyboard of his laptop, playing some sort of game. (A dating sim.)

And explosion occurred between the three and, through the clearing dust, Korasu stood with a toothy grin. "Attention all half-assed rimjobs!" he exclaimed.

"Excuse me?" Kei asked quietly.

"What I have here," Korasu continued, holding up a piece of paper, "is a challenge! Some high school is holding a battle of the bands right here in A-East, and we're entering!"

"What?" Jisatsu asked, not feeling the idea one bit.

"That's right! And we're gonna fuckin' rock the house down!" Korasu added, crushing the paper in his fist. After a diabolical laugh, he looked over his three band mates. "What instruments can you play?"

"I," Jin declared loudly, lowering himself to ground level, "shall work my magic on the guitar, as I was born to play. My grandiose stage presence along with my incontrovertible skill on the guitar will call upon even the most callow of audience members."

"You know I can simulate an entire orchestration with my synth," Kei said, closing his laptop, "I can cover any missing instrument."

"Before I say anything about what I play," Jisatsu began, "I need to know: Are you, in fact, going to be the vocalist?"

"Sure as hell am." Korasu replied.

"If that's the case, I shall play the drums… Very mechanically and with precise timing…" Jisatsu said, looking straight through Korasu's soul.

"Anyway…" Korasu continued, shaking Jisatsu's epic stare off, "I'll be accompanying Jin on the guitar, because we totally need dueling guitar solos if we want to win."

"How can you run two programs at that speed?!" Kei asked hysterically.

"I won't vocalize while we're soloing it up, idiot."

"Of course…"

In a flash, instruments appeared in everyone's hands. A massive drumset for Jisatsu, a huge synthesizer for Kei, a marvelous guitar for Jin, and a guitar and a mic stand for Korasu.

"Ready? 3, 2, 1, go!"

* * *

Beat ran inside his apartment and found Rhyme sitting in her room drawing a picture on a sketch-pad. "That logo ready yet, sis?" Beat asked.

Rhyme held up her pad, revealing a super-sweet band logo. It was missing some shading around the bottom half, but it looked amazing. (I'll leave that up to imagination… I don't want to describe it…)

"That looks tight!" Beat exclaimed.

"Thanks. I hope you guys win," Rhyme replied, smiling.

"You know it!" Beat said while running back out with his thumb up.

"Wait!" Rhyme called.

There was a slight pause before Beat popped his head back through the door. "Whassup?"

"Be careful, Daisukenojo. One of the bands you'll be facing off against is 'The Four Horsemen.' They're first-rate stuff." Rhyme warned, going back to her drawing.

Beat frowned and slowly exited.

* * *

"Wow, that's, like, really cool, Shiki!" Eri exclaimed as she watched Shiki play the guitar.

"Thanks… But I'm really nervous about performing in front of our entire school…" Shiki whispered, looking down.

"Oh, don't be upset," Eri sweet-talked, moving behind her friend and wrapping her arms around her from behind.

Shiki was presently wearing a backless shirt, so she could feel Eri's long hair tickle her back.

"You're so talented, Shiki…" Eri whispered in her ear, causing Shiki's glasses to fog up. Suddenly, Eri slid one of her hands down to the lower half of Shiki's stomach and the other up, pushing up her breasts. "I don't know what I'd do without you…" Eri continued by kissing Shiki's exposed back, sending shivers up the girl's spine. The hair on her neck stood as Eri lowered her hand to that one tender spot. Shiki let out a passionate sigh and crazy M rated lemons ensued… Maybe.

From around the corner, Neku stood in fear. 'Oh my god…' he thought, his nose spewing blood.

* * *

"I guess this oughta do," Korasu said, putting down his guitar. He cleared his throat and faced the other three. "I think we got it down, boys. You put up the stickers yet, Circuit Kei?"

"Sure did. Process completed at seventeen colon forty six colon twenty three." Kei replied.

"In that case, we got twenty four more hours until we slay the earth with our metal…"

* * *

Soon it was the night of the show, and the Concert Stage was full of high school boys and girls. There were some adults there as well, but they made up the minority. Backstage, Neku, Beat, and Shiki all stood nervously. In that moment, Minamimoto ran up to them with a familiar smirk.

"You coefficients ready to zetta rock?" he asked.

He received an unsure slur of noises for a reply.

"Let me sum this up, radians," Minamimoto continued, "We're gonna run out there, play strong, and throw everyone off their vectors. FOIL: First Outer, Inner Last."

"Not if we have anything to say about it," a voice like Korasu's declared from behind the four. They all looked back and saw Korasu, Kei, Jisatsu, and some other guy walking out of the shadows. "The Four Horsemen will be upstaging you by performing first and making you guys suck by comparison." Korasu said. Then he glanced at Shiki, who was holding a guitar. "Holy shit, is _she_ your guitarist?" he asked, beginning to laugh.

Shiki looked away, emabrassed.

"I've never heard of a female guitarist who was legitimately good!" Korasu continued, "Except Yuki from Haruhi Suzumiya!"

"Wouldn't expect such a hard-ass like you to like Haruhi Suzumiya…" Kei whispered.

"That's right. And Lucky Star," Korasu announced, making a face that made him seem a little out of it, "And Cardcaptor Sakura! And Hamtaro!! And Fruits Basket!!"

"Alright, we get it, you're really metro," Neku interrupted.

"…Okay then," Korasu said, crossing his arms, "If you assholes would excuse us, we got a song to rock," he motioned for his band to follow him onstage, which they did… with pizzazz.

Neku, Shiki, Beat, and Minamimoto watched from backstage as the 'Four Horsemen' took their positions.

"Alright, you queer spanking cocker spaniels!" Korasu shouted into the mic at the audience, "We're the 'Four Horsemen' and we're here with a mission to have someone die in the mosh we'll be setting you all up for, so be ready!!"

A few people in the crowd stepped back, while some of the tougher, edgier kids moved forward.

"Ready?! Four, three, two--!!" The song began abruptly, its sweep-picking opening crushing the crowd with no mercy in sight. And it only got more intense when Korasu began his ridiculously low and brutal vocals. He sounded as if he were in two places at once. (Song: "Alaska" by Between the Buried and Me. If you haven't heard it, even if you know you won't like it, listen to it on the Internet to get a feel for what Neku is seeing. It's epic, chaotic, and full of talent. k thnx)

When the song was over, the crowd freaked. The band showed some serious attitude as they exited the stage and Korasu flipped everyone off with a loud "Fuck you all."

"Beat that, bitches," Korasu whispered in Minamimoto's ear as he passed.

"Was that even in Japanese?" Shiki asked after she took her fingers out of her ears.

"I don't know and I don't care," Minamimoto replied, leading his troop onstage, "But we're gonna be so zetta better."

"But those dudes shook the place to pieces, yo!" Beat exclaimed, sitting down at the drumset.

"I heard it, you obtuse radian! But they only appealed to a certain section of this crowd," Minamimoto replied, gripping the mic which was all wet from Korasu spitting on it just to spite him, "Our song is a formula for success."

"I hope you're right," Neku muttered, equipping the bass.

From within the crowd, Eri watched Shiki as she nervously put the guitar strap around her neck and on her shoulder.

"Whoa? A girl guitarist?" some random kid asked aloud.

"She has to suck,"

"She can suck me! Yeah, 'cause I'm a guy, and sex is all I think about!"

"True dat, dawg!"

Eri bit her lip as she considered what she was about to do. 'Screw it,' she thought. Then she grabbed the bottom of her shirt and lifted it up, bra and all, for those on the crowd to see.

"Holy--" Korasu exclaimed from backstage. "Sixteen year old flesh!" he called to Kei, who was already playing his DS, "I just saw some illegal peach dumplings!"

"What are you, Korasu? Like, twenty or so? You disgust me," Jisatsu muttered, who was sort of aroused himself.

"Enough sexual nonsense! Let's go!" Minamimoto shouted. Suddenly, their song began. (If you want to hear this one, I used "Real my place" by Girugämesh. I just like imagining these guys do it. Minamimoto's Japanese voice could totally sound like Girugämesh's singer, so…)

By that time that was over, the entire crowd was jumping with excitement. Minamimoto kissed the crowd farewell as the four made their exit, stage left.

"How was that, radians?" Minamimoto asked the Four Horsemen cockily. (What a weird word that is…)

"It blew. I'd be surprised if it's even in the top six," Korasu replied.

"And we have our winners," the emcee announced into the mic, "Third place is Slamming Faces!"

Shooter and Yammer came out happily and took their prize, which was a small check. (Note: Chapter One; Korasu says something to Shooter that gives him inspiration for this name.)

"Second place…" the emcee continued, "Is…The Four Horsemen!"

"Fuck!! Then who won?!" Korasu asked loudly, letting Kei take the prize for him.

"And first place is… Give it up for Beyond the Vector!"

"_That's_ our name?" Neku asked.

"Whoo!!" Beat cheered, running on stage and grabbing a hold of the mic, "I wanna thank my sister, Rhyme, for being so supportive of this whole thing, yo! I heart you sis!!" he gave the crowd the peace-sign and joined the others in a collective bow.

Later, everyone had a party.

* * *

Uh, yeah… Heh-heh, sorry about that. I've been feeling really weird lately, so I had to write this mess. But! More importantly, I have some questions from you, the readers! Maybe one of these questions is from _you_, so listen up!

**Q:** Seppie, how old are the guys that make up the 'Four Horsemen?'

**A:** This really isn't important, but Korasu is twenty-one, Kei is nineteen, Jisatsu is twenty, and Jin is twenty-three. And to get _heights_ out of the way… Just know this: Kei, being a sloucher, is still taller than Jisatsu, but shorter than Korasu, who is the same height as Jin.

**Q: **Why does Korasu swear so much? I don't like swearing…

**A:** Aw, it's okay. In Japanese culture, excessive English swearing, especially the word "fuck", is a sign of pure intensity, not offensiveness. He _is_ a very intense individual, is he not?

**Q:** Are you going to make a relationship between Neku and Shiki?

**A:** You'll have to wait and see!! (What a generic answer…)

Got any good questions? I love answering them, so hit me up! Maybe your question will show up in future chapters! Until then, goodbye, and thank you! (Big bro says never to forget to thank everyone! He also said something about sweep-picking solos not using a pick, but whatever.)


	6. Chapter 6

Is it cold where you live? Because my feet are really chilly, and it's sort of uncomfortable. Look outside. See leaves falling? Or are they still green? Amazing how we're now in the same place, and I'm telepathically sending you messages from my mind while leaves may not be falling and feet may not be cold. Or so says Stephen King…

"_Paths are predetermined, but each step taken lies within."_

* * *

"I shall descend upon them as an accentuation of our collective power," Jin said as the four fallen Reapers sat in a circle.

Jin sat in his chair leaned back, grinning the entire time; Kei was leaned forward just like he would be as if we were standing; Jisatsu was sitting with one leg thrown over the other, floating without a chair and with his arms crossed; Korasu sat with his chair turned backwards. In the middle of their circle was a diagram.

Four stick-figures, each distantly resembling one of the Four Horsemen stood on one side, while a Neku stick figure stood on the other.

"Since Korasu has failed to exterminate the Taboo one," Jin continued, smirking snidely at their so-called leader, "I shall be the individual to close the matter."

Ignoring Jin's insult to his power, Korasu looked up at the ceiling as he thought. "You know they got the Angel with 'em though, right? I may have been able to reformat the biggest threat, but I can't touch that guy."

"No matter. My energetic potency is sure to be more than enough to murder someone devoid of any Reaper powers." Jin replied.

"You sound like me, brash and full of shit," Korasu whispered as he unbuttoned the one button of his shirt, "But remember what happens to cocky bastards, Satsujin." He removed his shirt completely revealing a tattoo-like marking stretching across his shoulders and back. The marks looked like static, and even appeared to move like on a television.

"I may be impetuous, but never negligent, Korasu. Not like you were during the inauguration these idiotic plans of yours. Now what alternative have we but to follow in your wake of idiocy?" Jin asked, sitting straight with irritation, "If we must indeed lower ourselves to your level, there will not be any Reapers remaining."

Korasu looked away in disgust, putting his shirt back on.

Seeing Korasu act this way pissed Jin off severely. He sat farther forward, pointing directly at Korasu. "In younger years, we spent innumerable hours attempting to outdo eachother at various tasks. But on the very day we achieved equality, we were concomitantly murdered."

"I don't need to be reminded of my own death!!" Korasu snapped.

There was a strong silence between the four. Jin sat back against his chair and blew hair out of his face.

"…When I called you guys here," Korasu began quietly, looking at them all intensely, "It wasn't because I wanted your help… Fuck, I definitely didn't want it… No, it was because I _needed_ it. Ever since I got this power, I've been slowly dying, as you know… Now, I know this whole thing seems foolish, but was the Game any better? We ran the risk of being taken out every week by some punk-ass Player, or getting picked off by one of the Taboo Noise. I wasn't about to sit there and take that. I wanted to break the chain, transcend conformity, and be number one. I invited you guys to join me through necessity, because I needed the strongest guys at my side. Plus, you don't hate me like all those other douche-bags out there. So, what do you say?" he looked at each individually as he continued, "Circuit Kei, you and I have been through the most as Reapers, being former partners. I know I can count on you. Jisatsu, you've always been coming to my aid whenever I got in trouble, whether I wanted you there or not. Thanks for saving my ass a million times over. And Jin… Look man, we grew up in the same neighborhood. I know we have a bunch of fall-outs, but damn it dude, I'll call you my bro any day. What do you all say?"

Jin brought his hand up to his chin as his grin returned. "Quite the monologue, Korasu. Strong verbs for someone at your skill level; and there existed a good metaphor as well. How can I reject such an immaculately written speech?" He sounded sort of sarcastic on that last part…

"Agreed," Jisatsu said, "I can't stand to see another one of us die, so I'll do whatever I must to protect everyone. What else is the knight for but sacrifice?"

"You don't need to hear my reply, Koro," Kei whispered with a smile hidden under his moutherchief, "Because you and me are like the Mario Bros. Sometimes separated, but never alone."

"What a wretched metaphor," Jin spat, raising an eyebrow, "Are _video games_ all you talk about?"

"And computers, but yeah, pretty much…" Kei replied, realizing it was getting sort of weathered.

"Thanks guys," Korasu announced, rising to his feet, "I won't let you down, so don't fail me, either!"

* * *

Just because he was being hunted by a ruthlessly powerful Reaper didn't mean Neku wouldn't have to attend school everyday. Luckily, Minamimoto had prepared for such a tragedy as what befell him that would, in turn, protect Neku.

Minamimoto spent the entire year previous to his return taming all Taboo Noise. Although he could not summon them out of thin air anymore, there were still a few sigils around the campus, ready to release Taboo Noise whenever Minamimoto needed them. They'd just be impossible to replace.

But whenever Neku walked home, he felt unsafe. No doubt Korasu knew that that's when he was most vulnerable. Still without any protection, he, Beat, Shiki, and Minamimoto stopped by Hanekoma's for the next few days discussing what to do.

Minamimoto's idea of how to teach the three ex-Players self-defense seemed more dangerous than what they're defending from in the beginning. The trick was to find their way into to old UG and get in touch with all their lingering psychs. Shiki explained that when she was unconscious, she sort of felt like she was inhabiting Eri's body. Minamimoto explained that her being able to sense things while out cold was a paradox, but said that it was their only lead. But without someone like Jisatsu to fish one of them out if they lost consciousness, the entire thing seemed implausible.

"Unless," Neku brought up, "we can convince the Nerd-Herder Sappukei to help us."

"What the factor makes you think an enemy will help us?" Minamimoto asked.

"He helped Shiki and I solve the mystery of Joshua's message by telling us to use kanji, and he didn't seem very hostile. He seemed like that stand in the background and do nothing kind of guy," Neku explained, crossing his arms tilting his head in thought.

"I don't know, Neku," Shiki said, "That seems really dangerous. We don't really know him."

"Yeah, do we know any other Reapers that probably don't wanna kill us?" Beat thought aloud.

A short pause before the three recalled, "Kariya!"

* * *

Kariya lead Uzuki through the park later that afternoon. He wanted badly to explain what she was, and what she could do, but her amnesia was too strong. The doctor said, once Kariya finally explained what happened to Uzuki in a more realistic way, that her amnesia should only be temporary. Uzuki refused to wear her old clothes, saying they were too dark and creepy. Instead, she wore only Natural Puppy clothes, something Kariya could not stand to look at. She also said that she wanted to grow out her hair, but Kariya thought he could care less about that.

Suddenly, the two saw Neku, Beat, and Shiki approach them from down the sidewalk.

"Well hey there," Kariya greeted with low enthusiasm, "How's life, kiddies?"

"How is Uzuki doing?" Neku asked, watching the woman watch a squirrel run up a tree.

"Atrociously. I need to get her to remember herself before I run out and get myself killed." Kariya replied, adjusting the lollipop in his mouth.

"Well listen, us three and Minamimoto have joined forces to fight off the guy in charge of all the craziness that's happening around here," Neku said, looking up at the man, "And we need a Reaper that doesn't want to kill us to help us get our Player psychs back."

"How the hell are we supposed to do that?" Kariya asked.

"The entrance to the old UG is in A-East," Shiki explained, "In the Concert Stage."

"Entrance? Since when was there an entrance? The UG exists on an alternate plane, you can't just walk in it," Kariya replied.

"Well either way, you can get to it from the Concert Stage." Neku said.

Kariya looked back at Uzuki. She was on her way back to his side, smiling. "Sounds fine. Let's just do it as fast as possible." Kariya whispered.

"That seems unlike you, yo," Beat remarked, "I thought you liked to slack off…"

"Not lately. Seeing Uzuki takin' it slow has pushed me to move quickly, to make up for what she's lacking."

"That's so sad," Shiki noted, watching Uzuki.

"Sitting here bitching about it won't help," Beat said, feeling a touch impatient. If he could have one thing right then and there, it would be his fist against Korasu's face.

"So you said Sho Minamimoto and you guys are together now?" Kariya asked, "How'd that come about?"

"Similar interests, I guess. We all want Korasu to stop," Neku replied, not entirely sure what Minamimoto had against Korasu besides disabling his powers.

"Well then, I suppose that means we should be teammates as well," Kariya said with a sigh, taking the sucker out of his mouth, "Because I want that guy dead."

"So you'll help us?" Neku asked excitedly.

"As long as I get a good hit in on that eccentric bastard."

"So it's us three, Kariya, and Tabooty against Korasu?" Beat asked no one in specific.

"--And the Nerd-Herder," Neku added, "As well as Jisatsu… although he didn't seem too vicious."

"According to Joshua, there's one more." Shiki said nervously.

"His name has to be Satsujin. I wonder what he's like…" Neku said, exhaling into his large shirt collar.

"Satsujin?" Uzuki repeated, sounding as if some sort of bell went off in her head.

"You know him?" Kariya asked casually, putting his lollipop back in his mouth.

"He and I… Quite a while ago…" Uzuki began, trailing off, having trouble remembering. She closed her eyes and emitted a frustrated growl, "I… knew him. Korasu and I called him Jin as kids…"

"Korasu? Did you say _Korasu_?!" Neku asked.

"Uzuki, you grew up with Korasu and Satsujin?" Kariya asked her calmly, grabbing her shoulders, making sure the memories wouldn't escape.

Uzuki's eyes suddenly filled with tears, "They were killed… at the same time… by a man, but I don't remember who… I saw the whole thing…"

"_Brilliant race, Korasu-kohai. I can't believe I lost," a young Satsujin said through heavy breaths._

"_Damn straight, Jin!"_

"_You fool; you have yet to earn the right to address me by my name without honorifics!"_

"_Screw your honorifics! Korasu always objects the rules!"_

"_Fine, have it your way. …Say, have you seen Uzuki-chan this morning? She wasn't at school, was she?"_

"_I dunno; I skipped."_

"_Korasu-kohai! Stop acting like a yankee and just go to school for once in a week!"_

"_Why?"_

"_Because Uzuki-chan looks up to you, and I want what's best for her!"_

_There was a pause between the two as Korasu smiled at a blushing Satsujin._

"_Um, wait, I mean… Because, you know, I don't want to see anyone else turn out like you, so…"_

"_Uzuki and Jin, laying by a tree, F-U-C-K-I-N-G," Korasu teased._

_Jin's blush deepened. "Korasu! We're only in junior high! I would never consider…"_

"_Hey guys!" a girl's voice shouted._

_The two boys looked down the street and saw a girl with pink hair running toward them, her skirt bouncing as she stepped. Suddenly she stopped and looked beyond them with horror._

_The boys looked behind them and saw a large man with two guns, one aimed at each of their heads._

"_You two hold promise," the man boomed. He pulled the triggers, and Korasu and Jin fell to the ground, bleeding profusely, Korasu from his right eye and Jin from his forehead._

_The girl screamed at the top of her lungs as the man disappeared down an alleyway._

"Years later," Uzuki continued, "I couldn't take it, so I… you know…"

There was an authoritative silence hovering around the five as they surrounded Uzuki on the park bench.

"So those creeps were named 'homicide' and 'to kill' back then, huh?" Beat asked himself, turning away.

"Why didn't you mention that when we were fighting him last week?" Kariya asked.

"I didn't recognize him," Uzuki replied, "But do you remember how mad he got after I shot him? I feel really bad about doing it now… right in the same spot Jin was shot… the forehead."

"So does Korasu cover his right eye with hair because there's a scar there?" Neku asked, taking serious mental notes.

"That would make sense. From what I have heard from my life as a Reaper, Jin wears a headband around his forehead."

"Well there's no way he didn't recognize you when he attacked," Kariya stated. The words came out harshly. "You grew up with him right? How could he leave you lingering to life by a thread like that?"

"He probably _didn't_ recognize me," Uzuki said, irritated with Kariya at the moment, "I shot him in the face. He had blood in his eye."

"I know this sounds weird," Shiki began, waiting for all the eyes to fix on her,

"But do you think he kept you just barely alive to let you know he remembers you? What I mean is, he wasn't _trying_ to kill you. I think he remembered you just before he struck and kept you alive to prove it."

"He blew a hole in her stomach and smashed her head against the wall," Kariya interjected, "I don't think he cared who she was."

"Maybe, yo. But I was wonderin'… Pinky, is your amnesia gone?" Beast asked.

"…What amnesia?"

"Is that good or bad?" Neku asked himself.

* * *

Jin sat cross-legged in the middle of the roof of the Concert Stage, meditating. He had his eyes closed as the wind blew his long hair over his face from behind. Both arms were crossed as he sat with tranquility. He did not open an eye or turn when he heard someone approaching.

"What question do you pose, Sappukei?" Jin asked.

Kei stood a good fifteen feet or so behind Jin as he sighed. He wasn't sure if he wanted to sit or stand before he began speaking. So he just stood there, hunched over with the wind blowing his moutherchief forward.

"Speak now or forever hold your peace," Jin said, mimicking a master of matrimony, making the line come out rather strangely.

"My processor cannot run properly with these conflicting applications surging through it," Kei uttered, "So let me ask this straight-up. You're seriously putting your life on the line for Koro's dead-end cause? I don't even think _he_ believes in it."

"Allow me to elucidate something I have been pondering for awhile now, Sappukei," Jin replied almost instantly, "I do not share condolences with you and Jisatsu over Korasu's ideals. However, I am doing what must be done. This is fate, it cannot be disengaged."

"But, why would you just toss yourself into the recycle bin like you're some underused program?"

At this, Jin raised an eyebrow, causing an eye to open. He looked back at Kei as if those bad computer references would be the end of him and asked, "Are not the items in the recycle bin available for revival? If I were truly sacrificing myself for Korasu, I would not be heading to a recycling bin. Work on your metaphors. Better yet, try a simile. They would perhaps work more effectively with your appalling wire-speak. Your comparison between me and an underused program, for instance. That was reasonably convincing."

Kei scowled and imitated Jin under his breath. Soon he was back on track with his questioning, "'Fate' isn't a clear enough answer. I've come across it too many times in RPGs… Why are you really doing this?"

"If memory serves me correctly, Korasu and I had a dead-even score when we were simultaneously killed. Thereby, according to the transitive property, we are equal in skill. If the proxy and his party can overcome me, my demise will serve as a caveat to Korasu that he is doomed to fail. Let it be known that I, Satsujin, shall be the individual to clear all doubts, like only a true man can. Now, away with you."

Kei shook his head and exited, all the while thinking how much he hated the way Jin spoke as if he were better than everyone.

* * *

"Took you coefficients long enough," Minamimoto said as Neku, Beat, Shiki, Kariya, and Uzuki entered the Wild Kat, where the other two allies were waiting.

"So you found someone to help you out, Neku?" Hanekoma asked, impressed that he could recruit Kariya.

"I'm about to do anything for revenge," Kariya replied.

"Koki, I never thought you cared about me so much," Uzuki said, not even thinking how awkward that could have made the moment.

"Honestly, it's not all for you, Uzuki," Kariya stated, shrugging, "I just can't stand everything this Korasu guy has been doing. Sure, he beat the crap outta you, but he also kicked me out of my favorite hag-out, the UG, not to mention he's a jerk. All of these are inexcusable in my book."

"I agree with Kariya," Shiki said, "a guy who can do all that he's done and still keep going is too dangerous to be left alone."

"Sure, we gotta do something about him. Especially because he's after my life…" Neku muttered. Then he glared sharply at Minamimoto, "But _someone_ said he could help out. All you did was say, 'Go find someone to take you back to the UG.'"

"Don't get your panties in a bunch, you hectopascal," Minamimoto replied, "I specifically said I was gonna _instruct_ you all on _how to fight_ the rogue radian. Once you get some of your Player psychs back, class is in session."

* * *

Kariya lead the others toward A-East, accompanied by Uzuki, who did, in fact, still have amnesia, though it was not serious and had only affected short-term memory. Neku, Beat, and Shiki moved with caution in direct contrast to Kariya's nonchalance. Minamimoto did not go with them, saying it would be much too dangerous. Neku told him he was full of it and stormed out. Presently, he was moving behind Kariya with Shiki clinging to his arm.

"Where exactly did you say I needed to go?" Kariya asked by the time they reached A-East.

"The light came from the Concert Stage," Shiki replied.

Kariya looked over the barren structure. During the day, it was just like an empty warehouse. At night is when it really livened up.

"Keep on your toes," Kariya warned in a low tone, "I feel some major power lingering around here."

"Well this is undoubtedly an unanticipated turn of events in my favor," a voice called from before them.

Directly in front of the party, no person could be seen. However, when they all looked up to the roof of the Concert Stage, they saw a man with long dark hair and a headband.

"That's Jin! I remember him…" Uzuki said.

"I was just on my way out to search for you," Jin muttered, crossing his arms, which was a very common thing for him to do, "But fate has worked to my advantage. Here you all stand before me… except that math-obsessed ignoramus. Where might he be?"

"Like we'd tell you, old man!!" Beat shouted.

"Beat, relax," Kariya said, putting his arm out to hold the boy back. He looked up at Jin then over to Uzuki. "We'll handle this clown. You three head on in…"

"But, what if you don't survive?" Neku asked, "Who will bail us out of the old UG?"

"Don't worry about it; just go." Kariya replied.

After a short pause, Neku nodded and lead the other two into the Concert Stage.

Jin only smirked at Kariya and Uzuki. "Korasu mentioned you," he said, pointing to Kariya, "He commanded me to hold nothing back if you and I were to engage. Appearances dictate the carrying out of his will,"

"Let me just one thing out of the way," Kariya announced, ignoring Jin completely, "I'm not planning on wasting my time on you. Uzuki here isn't either. See, we have some revenge to carry out, and you have nothing to do with it. So do us all a favor and get outta here before I change my mind."

Jin burst out in a mocking laughter. "Work on your sentence structure. Stalwart and powerful beings as you and I must speak with perfection. Enticing verbs, authoritative adjectives… Life is nonfiction literature, and no unpolished work can be published. Do you understand this metaphoric aphorism?"

"I think it means you're a windbag," Kariya replied, causing Uzuki to grin.

Jin's smirk vanished and was replaced by an odious scowl. "Very well, it cannot be helped. Some people simply repudiate higher education," he uttered, jumping down from the roof and landing softly, "What say you to a fracas? Two on one is entirely reasonable by me."

"Sounds like a plan." Kariya said, spitting out his lollipop.

Grumble grumble. This is probably my favorite chapter due solely to the dialogue in the beginning, but I meant for the battle between Kariya and Uzuki and Jin to begin _and_ conclude here. This may take a bit longer than I anticipated in the planning stages. But, thank you for sticking with it. I appreciate the kind reviews and PMs. I simply _love_ getting PMs from readers of any of my stories. Speaking of, I have two questions this time…

**Q:** Where did you think up the Four Horsemen?

**A:** Their appearances are directly from four of my friends, while their personalities are from MY BRAIN. I've heard Kei doesn't make enough computer references… I'm sorry, but I know nothing of computers…

(This one is from big bro) **Q:** Seppie, have you even thought about how this is going to end yet?

**A:** … … …Happily ever after? (I dunno!)


	7. Chapter 7

RAWR! Hello. Um, I'm sorry this took so long. I use two computers for everyday life, and the other one has MOTHER 3 and some other fun stuff on it. But I need to prioritize! I hope my insatiably long hiatus doesn't crap all over my writing ability. I feel that this chapter's quote sucks, but I hope that the rest doesn't. This is an important one!

"_Insanity is like a concerto; it begins unexpectedly, gradually crescendos into something fearsome, and comes to a halt as abruptly as it began."_

"What --and I implore that you attempt to be as specific as possible about this as I do not care for ambiguity, nor have I ever since I met you-- are you two doing?" Jin asked as he stood behind Korasu and Kei who were peering into a window of a store as people walked through them.

It was the year of Neku's thirteenth birthday, to put things into perspective. Jisatsu hovered inches from the sidewalk next to Jin as the four Harriers enjoyed a day off in Ikebukuro.

"We're window shopping, Jabberjaws," Korasu replied, keeping his face glued to the glass, "The hell does it look like?"

"You both know that you could just go in there and steal whatever you want, right?" Jisatsu asked slowly.

"The purpose in window shopping is to _not_ obtain, idiot." Korasu said.

Jisatsu, being the most intelligent there, balked at that remark. "Excuse me?"

"We're just bored out of our processors," Kei said, "We've been running at half-speed since the Conductor told us to take twenty-four hours of standby mode."

"The two of us unearth this holiday as providential," Jin stated, "Jisatsu can use it to work ever so diligently on subsequent strategies, and I can continue to write my nonfiction reports that I entitle 'Reaperdom: The Resulting Paths that Bind Us.'" He flashed a grin.

"You guys must lead hideously lame-ass lives," Korasu said, keeping his eyes on a shirt inside the store.

"We didn't find you two to be insulted," Jisatsu began, "We came because we have some important news from the Conductor. He says that he'll be sending a Player into the Game who is obscenely powerful."

"That word cannot ever be used properly," Jin interrupted, "It is without a suitable definition. Never use it unless you are intending to point out its fallacy."

Jisatsu cleared his throat, sort of embarrassed that Jin pointed out something he did wrong. That rarely happened.

"Was that all you came to say?" Korasu asked, finally taking his eyes away from the window, "Because I don't care how powerful he is. A Player is a Player, and there's nothing they can do to defeat me, end of discussion."

Jin leered at him and turned away. "If he refuses to head our warnings, so be it. Just do not expect any assistance from us when you come crawling for salvation, Korasu."

* * *

Before their battle had started, Kariya explained to Jin that Uzuki was in no condition to fight. Jin had glanced at the pink-haired woman and shrugged.

"So you wish it, so it shall be," he had said.

So Uzuki stood in the background, watching the battle ensue from around the Concert Stage's corner.

Jin immediately used his Reaper powers to set up walls around A-East, blocking it from pedestrians. Any already in the area would most likely be killed.

"You fool," Jin exclaimed, rising himself high into the air, "I am an exalted Officer, and you a lowly Harrier! I _have_ indeed heard of your aptitude, but I'm afraid it is nothing in comparison to one such as myself."

"Boy, do you ever shut up?" Kariya asked, twirling the lollipop in his mouth.

"I see I have another ignoramus in my midst…" Jin replied in a mutter, "No matter. This will be over quickly…" Suddenly, he blasted a long beam of his energy at Kariya, who dodged with a side roll. Just as he got back on his feet, he noticed the energy beam was connected to Jin's hand, coming out like a large whip. It slithered at him, this time narrowly missing his head. He was on the run. The whip of energy was keeping him on his feet, studying for an opening, but one could not be seen. Jin brought his hand swiftly back and forth, up and down, conducting the whip with masterful precision.

This was bad for Kariya. All Jin had to do to win was flail his arm around, where Kariya was exerting all of his energy dancing across the pavement, making sure not to get any part of him burned off by the searing beam. He was getting pretty desperate. He took a quick second to glance at Uzuki, then went right back to dodging.

Uzuki took the hint. She pulled her oversized gun out of nowhere and aimed at Jin's head. Her finger trembled on the trigger. Could she pull it? Could she bring herself to put Jin through the same pain that caused his death? On one hand, she had orders. Kariya told her exactly what she'd need to do if anything went awry… But who was Kariya? She didn't remember a thing about him, besides the fact that he picked her up from the hospital. But she remembered Jin. She remembered the summers she spent with him and Korasu at the park, running around, having fun. Why should she have to exterminate that memory?

It was that untimely confliction that caused Jin to get the first hit. His whip of energy slammed against Kariya's side, sending him to the wall. Then something deep in the mind of Uzuki just clicked. She had cares for Koki as well.

She tightened her finger and pulled the trigger, sending a large blast at Jin.

The Reaper didn't even see it until a split second before it made impact. And did it make impact… Right square on the forehead.

Kariya sat up and witnessed Jin slowly falling from the sky with a thin trail of blood behind him. The Reaper landed on the pavement with a bounce and a thud, face first, with his hair splattered across the ground like blood.

"Oh no…" Uzuki whispered, rushing over to the body.

Kariya hopped up and stopped her before she got too close.

"Koki, what are you doing?" Uzuki asked hysterically, "I killed him! How could I--"

"He's not dead," Kariya muttered.

Jin slowly got to his feet, his hair hanging down in front of his eyes, sending out a quiet chuckle. "I thought," he growled, still with his head down, "That you said she was in no condition." Suddenly he flung his head up and glared at the two, his face frightening and covered in blood and dirt. "Did you lie?"

Kariya and Uzuki each took a step back.

"Uzuki, shoot him again," Kariya whispered.

Uzuki reluctantly aimed her weapon, bit it was tossed out of her hands by Jin's whip.

"Going back on your word, are you?" Jin continued, beginning to rise back into the air. His Reaper wings suddenly sprouted with a loud crashing sound. "Well, you shall soon see what I think of liars!!"

His wings grew and grew, revealing their unimaginably complex design. Then they wrapped around his body and suddenly shattered. In Jin's place stood a very large and menacing Noise closely resembling a mammoth. His head was that of a mammoth's skull with a skeletal trunk. The tusks were long and had what appeared to be sinew hanging from them. What was strangest was that he was on two feet.

"Once upon a time…" Jin boomed, his voice completely different from before, "A duo of pitiable Harriers were impaled on my tusks and exhibited on my wall as trophies."

* * *

Neku wasn't sure if he was awake or asleep. Before him was whiteness. He could not move, but he figured it was white behind him as well. It was rather painful to have his eyes open, really.

Out f the corner of his eye, he saw Beat, floating toward him very hastily. Soon Beat was right in front on Neku, showing that he was unconscious. Neku mustered the strength to turn his head to the left, where he saw Eri, who must have been Shiki. She, too, was unconscious.

Was this really all that was left of the UG? Could Korasu really be this powerful?

* * *

"What happened to him?" Uzuki asked quietly as she and Kariya stood side by side against a wall out of Jin's view.

"That's Barrinus Cantus," Kariya said, peeking out from around the corner.

Barrinus Cantus stomped around swinging his large trunk to and fro, smashing it into walls.

"Barrinus Cantus? I've never heard of it... Is it anything similar to Woolies?"

"I was told that Jin _created_ those types of Noise alongside the Composer as a demonstration of his power."

"Are you kidding?! That's frikken' nuts!" Uzuki cried. She finally was beginning to sound like herself again.

"Sadly no, I am not kidding," Kariya turned to her, "Awright, here's the plan: Barrinus Cantus could deal us some serious damage, so we need to strike quickly and back off. He's sacrificed power for speed, so if we keep our pace up, we should be able to--" he noticed Uzuki was looking past him. He glanced back and saw Barrinus Cantus glaring fiercely down at him.

"Verb you, noun!!" Barrinus Cantus roared. In an instant, a fist appeared between Kariya and Uzuki, sending a wave of force though the ground that sent the two soaring in opposite directions.

Kariya landed on his feet and slid back into the main street.

Barrinus Cantus turned and titled his head at the Reaper. "You are a tad better than I formerly anticipated, but that will not make a difference when I do this!!" he shouted. He abruptly began sprinting at an impressive pace, even to a Reaper. He was about to ram right into Kariya, which would have easily crushed him like a bug. But at the last second, Kariya jumped into the air, gripped the beast's trunk and used it to swing onto his back. Barrinus Cantus skidded to a halt when he felt the little man on his back, but he couldn't shake him off. Kariya jumped down and landed with one foot on each tusk, aiming his open palm at Barrinus Cantus' face.

"Give your lungs a rest, you windbag." he muttered. Then he shot the largest blast of destructive energy he could have possibly mustered, sending himself off the creature with a trail of smoke following him. Kariya's back slapped against a wall, but he still caught the manifested result of his attack.

Barrinus Cantus fell to his knees with a heavy thump. His head was nowhere to be seen and dark blood blasted with the force of a rocket launch into the sky.

Uzuki made her way out into the main street by the corpse, slumped over, just in time for the rain of blood.

Pedestrians ran in terror once the walls faded.

"If that's the power of just one of these Four Horsemen," Kariya said as he regained his footing, "Then we've lost."

* * *

"There. You feel that? Jin is dead," Jisatsu said calmly.

Korasu sat on some steps in an unclear area somewhere in Tokyo. His knee moved up and down rapidly as he covered his mouth with folded hands. "Fuck…" he whispered, "fuck, fuck, fuck…"

"Koro," Kei began, "Jin said that if he died, you should give up. He said that if he couldn't do it, then there was no way you could."

"Based on how quick that battle was, I'd have to agree." Jisatsu added.

"What, are you bastards gonna quit?" Korasu asked in a yell.

"No, we all agreed to stick to this. I just feel that we're cornering our own king. It's bound to be a stalemate, Korasu." Jisatsu replied.

"Then fuck you! We still have a chance. Have you guys forgotten about how I killed the Composer?!"

"That attack of yours is going to fail soon…" Jisatsu muttered inaudibly.

"You're running low on MP, Koro." Kei said.

Korasu growled and looked down at his exposed chest; fading into static.

* * *

R.I.P.

Shokihatsu "Satsujin" Nakayama

Master of the English (Japanese to them) language,

Grammar Nazi,

Friend

At last, his real name! This chapter had to be short, because I never planned on it being long. Makes sense, right? Jin was planned to be short-lived from the beginning, but I never thought I'd find it so hard to let go of him. He was such a good character. I hope he left you with some questions, because he was supposed to. I use all kanji for names, because I actually know quite a bit of kanji, but not a lot of anything else. (The kanji for "A fly in May" spells "Shut up!" A slightly edited version of his name means "first stage" and "hairdo." Yes, weird, I know. But he was the first, and he did have long hair and what-not, so… He's only half-Japanese.

**Q: **What was your inspiration for the this story?

**A:** Hmm... Well, I have no idea, really! I'm probably just subconsciously mixing all my favorite anime, I guess.

**Q:** Can we see some more Rhyme in the future? Like why aren't we seeing her getting psychs back?

**A:** I just really didn't feel like she would work, because I have no clue how she fights and feel her personality would be too similar to the Shiki I've made. Sorry. I'm sure she'll pop in now and then, but…

Okay, I'll see y'all in the future. I got MOTHER, Castlevania, and Kirby to play simultaneously, so I'm out. Thanks, and I really hope I didn't disappoint after that break.


	8. Chapter 8

Squee!! I can't believe how far I've come with this. It's in the top ten longest TWEWY fics… I think someone told me that. Surprising, to say the least. See, most of those other fics are Josh/Neku minis, and then the author automatically assumes they're awesome because they have 30 reviews in 5 chapters. Well, those reviews consist of "lol good job that's cute lol." I like these long significant reviews I get. They actually make me feel accomplished. Also, three words: Longest. Chapter. Ever. You've been warned.

"_Slow and steady wins the race, but it cannot win the war."_

* * *

Neku breathed.

For the first time since he blacked out, he could actually breathe. The last thing he could remember was looking around in the emptiness where he saw Beat and Shiki. Now he was sitting up in the Wild Kat café's back room with a dim light hanging right over his head.

He slid off the table he was on and looked around. Kariya was leaning against the wall, looking asleep. Other than that, Neku was alone. He exited the room to find Mr. Hanekoma, Uzuki, Minamimoto, Beat, and Shiki scattered around the area.

"Morning Neku," Mr. Hanekoma said with a smile, "Didja sleep well?"

"What happened exactly?" Neku asked, grabbing his head.

"Kariya pulled you out of the old UG, just like I said! I'm so zetta awesome!!" Minamimoto shouted, clenching his fists in excitement.

"Yo, that wasn't your idea!" Beat snapped, turning around in the booth he was sitting in to face the mathematician.

"Whatever, radian. I'm a factoring genius, whether you want to acknowledge it or not…"

"Well, Neku?" Shiki asked.

"What?"

"Can you use them? Your psychs?"

Neku looked down at his hand. "I don't think I brought any pins with me though." He said.

"Sure you did," Mr. Hanekoma said, flipping Neku a small red object, "I found it after it slid out of your pocket. Try it out."

Neku examined the object and found it to be his first pin, the one that he put in his pockets a few days ago. Why it was still there and why he was still in the same pair of shorts was curious, but not all that important. The point is, now he could see if he could finally defend himself.

He put the pin on and looked around. "If I use this and it works, I'll light something on fire," he said, "That's dangerous."

"Neku, remember the physical properties of that stuff," Mr. Hanekoma pointed out, "It won't actually burn anything. It's just Imagination."

If Mr. Hanekoma said it was alright, it must be. Neku shrugged and pointed to his right where a searing conflagration spawned. It died as soon as he stopped pointing and left no evidence of its existence.

"Good thing I never get any customers or else someone could have seen that as some real danger," Mr. Hanekoma muttered.

"Neku! You got your psychs back!" Shiki cried, standing up. Mr. Mew was at her feet, silently applauding him. Obviously she had hers back too.

"This is tight, yo! Now we can go kick that Korasu's ass!" Beat exclaimed.

"Not so fast you three," said a voice from behind them.

They turned to see Kariya, barely able to stand, leaning in the doorframe of the back room.

"You don't know where he is…" Kariya muttered.

"They'll come for us, just like Jin said he was going to." Neku replied.

Kariya shook his head. "I fought that guy and won, but it couldn't happen again. If they're all that strong, or worse, stronger than that guy, we're beyond screwed. I don't think I can fight for awhile."

"Well, Korasu took Minamimoto's powers and gave Uzuki amnesia and Jin slowed you down, but Shiki, Beat, and I have our psychs back, and we've defeated all three of you at least twice before." Neku said.

"It's not like that this time, kid," Uzuki interjected, "By the way, I don't have amnesia anymore…"

"She's right, digit-licker," Minamimoto said, "You may have been able to defeat us, but we were still stronger. I almost did what this new radian Korasu is trying to do by myself. With the three of them still around, the equation equaling your survival is a long and complicated one. I'm not all too sure it can happen."

"Are you saying we have no chance for survive?!" Beat cried.

"Make your time." Minamimoto whispered menacingly.

"Enough retro references!" Neku shouted, "We're not giving up! Pi-Face, you said you'd train us in our psychs when we got them back, so I'm holding you to it!"

Minamimoto grinned and shook his head. "Whatever you say, yoctogram."

* * *

A chess board, the size of a football field in square format, was laid down across the ground of a massive darkened warehouse on the west coast of Japan. A large white pawn mysteriously began to slide forward two spaces through the means of some unseen force. When it hit its mark, there was a long pause.

A sharp beam of light infringed upon the scene when the doors swung open with Korasu standing in their way.

"Jisatsu, why the hell did you call me to a dank place like this way out in the boonies?" Korasu asked, looking around. He stepped inside, not able to see beyond the towering chess pieces.

"I've been working on this strategy for quite some time now," Jisatsu said, his voice echoing throughout the warehouse.

"Oh, here we go…" Korasu mumbled to himself.

"From the beginning, with your first text message saying you've killed the Composer, I began to devise this. It has gone through two major changes; one after learning what we were up against, and the other after Jin died. But I can safely say that I am prepared to confront the proxy and anything he has to offer."

Korasu blinked. "Whoa, wait a minute. Seriously? Dude, you don't gotta do that."

"No, I am finally prepared…" Jisatsu suddenly appeared standing atop the white knight closest to Korasu, "But they must come to me. I play defensively, if you understand."

"Oh, I get it. Just tell Kei and me what we got to do."

* * *

Minamimoto had lied. At least Neku saw it that way. When Minamimoto said that he'd train them in their psychs, Neku figured that he'd be teaching them some sort of super-uber technique of untapped power that would be enough to erase Korasu. All Minamimoto was doing was giving Neku new pins and telling him how to use them. Sure, the pins were nice, rather expensive looking, but it wasn't at all what Neku expected.

To Beat and Shiki, on the other hand, Minamimoto was giving all of his time. He had them going through some extraordinary training regimens to learn what they could do with their psychic weapons.

Mr. Mew became even creepier, as it now had the power to transform its arms to random sharp objects.

Beat had learned to somehow fly on his skateboard, something he spent the entire afternoon doing. Also, doing tricks like kickflips and shove-its caused shockwaves of Imagination at potential enemies.

"I appreciate the incentive, coefficients!" Minamimoto shouted into a megaphone, "Let's call it a day!" They practiced atop a tall building so the people wouldn't see.

"How did you know about all this stuff, Sho?" Shiki asked, hugging Mr. Mew against her chest.

"When you're a zetta sexy Reaper Officer, you learn all kinds of tricks from the Conducter pertaining to Imagination usage."

"What, did you seduce the guy into giving you secrets?" Beat asked with a chuckle.

"Some Old Horses Can Always Hear Their Owners Approach," Minamimoto snapped, "I actually stole these secrets when the guy wasn't looking."

"Very brave," Neku said.

Minamimoto turned his head toward the boy, who looked very displeased. "What's got you?" Minamimoto asked.

"Am I supposed to feel safe now that you gave me some pins? Am I supposed to be able to defend myself from Korasu with these?"

Minamimoto sighed. "Look, you factoring formula for fail, digits that use pins aren't my specialty. I don't use them, so why should I be able to help you?"

Neku crossed his arms and tapped his foot.

"What?" Minamimoto asked loudly with a shrug.

Neku just looked away and ignored the Reaper.

"Fine," Minamimoto muttered, "You can suck my line segment…"

There was an awkward pause as Neku pondered Minamimoto's statement. Line segment?

Suddenly, the sound of heavy feet stomping across the pavement could be heard in the distance. People screamed and were sent scattering in terror.

The four atop the building looked over the edge and saw a glimpse of a long red tail as it disappeared behind another building.

"The heck was that, yo?" Beat asked, getting on his skateboard to check it out.

"Be careful, Beat!" Shiki called as the boy flew off.

Beat landed his board with ease and swiftly darted between people as he made his way into the main street. He stopped in awe as he found himself standing before the largest Dragon-type Noise he had ever seen. It was nothing like he and Neku had fought against in the past. This one was in a similar shade of red as one of the old ones, but it was twice the size and had massive horns protruding from its head. Its wings, too, were immense and appeared to be on fire.

"Whoa…" Beat whispered as the creature lifted its head high with a growl.

"It's called a Hell Metal Drake," said Minamimoto from behind him, "Don't let it touch you!"

Beat looked back to see Neku and Shiki running to his aid.

"Look out!" Neku cried, pointing past him.

Beat noticed he was suddenly out of the sunlight. He looked back and found the claw of the Hell Metal Drake eclipsing the sun. It abruptly came down with crushing force, and Beat narrowly dodged it. "Whoaly shit, yo!" he shouted, his voice high-pitched and weak.

"That thing is too much for you three!" Minamimoto cried from atop the building he was on, "It was made long ago and locked away because it took about all of us Reapers to stop it! It's too powerful!"

"Who let it free?" Shiki called back.

"My bets are on Korasu," Neku said, putting on all of his new pins.

"No, you concave hectopascal! Don't fight it; you can't win!" Minamimoto cried.

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Neku asked.

"Run!"

* * *

"Jisatsu, they're on their way," Korasu said, walking into the warehouse casually. The door closed behind him trapping him in total darkness.

"Thank you," Jisatsu said, unable to be found, "What did you do to bring them here, if I may ask?"

"I'm chasing them down with the Hell Metal Drake." Korasu replied.

Jisatsu remained silent for a moment, and then he cleared his throat. "Excuse me? The Hell Metal Drake?"

"Yeah that's right,"

"How do you intend to put it away when the time comes? Not even you are strong enough to do it unaided."

"I'll kill it with the same attack I used the kill the Composer," Korasu said, grabbing at his right shoulder, "I'm willing to take that sacrifice for a friend."

"You idiot," Jisatsu snapped, "I am sacrificing myself for _you_. Don't sacrifice yourself for _me_."

"Too late for that now, isn't it?" Korasu asked rhetorically. Soonafter, he turned and made his exit.

"What goes through that man's head?" Jisatsu asked himself. He appeared sitting on the white king, with the many chains on his tight pants jingling. His skinny legs hung over the edge of the king piece as he blew his mass of hair to one side.

* * *

No matter where they ran, the Hell Metal Drake seemed to be forcing them west. Soon the seashore could be seen on the horizon, and in its center a large warehouse.

"That's the old Okoku building; the Kingdom Warehouse!" Neku announced as they ran for it.

"I bet it's a trap, yo!" Beat added, still full of energy as he was only riding his board.

"If it is a trap, then I bet this dragon will be taken away," Shiki said, struggling to keep up with Neku, "It was probably meant to lead us here."

"Any bets on who's inside?" Beat asked.

Neku thought back to the young Reaper with all the hair in his face. He made a few chess references, so someplace like Kingdom Warehouse would be a fitting hideout.

The three burst inside and slammed the doors behind them. They heard the Hell Metal Drake storming towards them from behind the door, but the noises were suddenly replaced with sounds of static. Then there was silence.

"Welcome to my kingdom," called a voice coming from the ceiling.

Neku, Beat, and Shiki looked up and saw Jisatsu slowly descending with a dim spotlight on him as he spoke, "I am very pleased that you made it here unscathed, as you will need all of your energy to play my game."

"What game?" asked Neku.

Jisatsu landed gracefully in the center of the giant chess board. "This," he said loudly, extending his arms. The lights in the warehouse turned on in a flash and the three teens winced. When their eyes adjusted to the light, they found the ground to be a giant chess board with massive chess pieces set up in their proper positions.

"Are we gonna play chess or somethin'?" Beat asked, crossing his arms, "Cause I don't know how."

"Not chess exactly," Jisatsu replied, "It is more of a game of reaction. Allow me to explain. I will give each of you a few moments to hide amongst these pieces where you will remain while it is my turn. When so, I shall search for one of you, at a reasonable walking pace, and if I find you, we shall exchange blows until my turn is finished. At that time, I shall disappear and you three must decide who will challenge me in the second round. This consists of taking control of the large chess pieces and playing the game until the time limit is up. The catch is that the pieces will be moving during the first round while I am searching for you. You must predict the future moves of the imaginary players to remain hidden. Taking over where they left off should prove entertaining as well."

Beat's jaw dropped.

"I think I understand the rules," Neku said, clearly in focus, "But how can we possibly win if you were to never find us?"

"If my turn is up and I have not found any of you, I will deal damage upon myself." Jisatsu said.

Shiki's eyes widened. "Self-mutilation?"

"Indeed, it is the only way that I will feel the repercussions of failure at my own game."

"Why should we believe you'll go through with this?" Neku asked.

Jisatsu unzipped his coat and tossed it aside, revealing how scrawny he was. He wore a tight white v-neck tee-shirt with the stylistic image of a rook slapped across it. He acquired a four-inch knife from his back pocket and took it to his bicep. "I shall demonstrate," he muttered. Then he pulled the knife swiftly across himself, resulting in a quick flow of blood.

Shiki gasped.

"Alright, I see he's serious about this," Neku said, "And why should I doubt the eccentricities of a Reaper? They all have something they obsess over. The game makes sense, and the chances of victory are about as equal as defeat, depending on how long the rounds are."

"They are but a minute each," Jisatsu replied, not remotely afflicted by his wound.

"Perfect. You're the noblest Reaper I've ever met," Neku said with a grin.

"The knight Jisatsu, at your service," Jisatsu murmured with a bow.

"What the hell you all talking about?" Beat asked, grabbing at his head.

"Beat, just stay hidden and let Shiki and I do all the thinking," Neku whispered.

"Aight," Beat replied, not noticing the obvious insult.

"I have a question," Shiki said, raising her hand.

Jisatsu nodded at her.

"Well, what is the purpose of playing chess against you?" she asked.

"Ah, forgive me, I forgot to explain that. If one of you manages to defeat me in chess during the time allotted, the game ends and I let you go free. Also, I will tell you the secrets of Korasu and all of his weaknesses and return to my home in the north." Jisatsu replied. His blood dripped on the white marble below him.

"You obviously don't expect us to win…" Neku muttered.

"No, I do not," Jisatsu said, "Now, if I win, the pieces will disappear for an entire turn, and there will be nowhere to hide. The turn afterwards, where you usually decide who will play against me, will be then spent setting the pieces back up. A well deserved rest for each of us."

"This is beginning to sound ridiculous," Neku noted, shaking his head.

"It's three against one," Jisatsu said, "Jin was killed by Koki Kariya, one that you have defeated in the past. Are you seriously complaining?"

"Who says we'll follow the rules?" Beat asked in a yell.

Jisatsu lifted his bloodied knife. "This says. If one of you continues attacking after round one, for example, I will hold nothing back and kill you on the spot."

Neku shivered. _Hold nothing back_? That is to imply that he would be holding himself back the entire time… And yet it's supposedly a fair fight. It was no wonder Kariya is screwed out of fighting. These Horsemen must be like nothing he had ever faced before. Obviously, Korasu was beyond the strength of Kitaniji, the old Conductor, or even Joshua, and Jisatsu was one of his personal friends. This was going to be hell.

Soon, Neku, Beat, and Shiki readied themselves behind some of the gigantic black pieces. Neku stood behind the right rook, able to peak around to the right and score a glance of the entire board. He wasn't all too sure where Shiki was, but he could see Beat behind the pawn kiddy-corner to himself.

"Beat!" Neku whispered, "That spot sucks! A pawn is likely to move first! When the game starts--"

"Begin!" Jisatsu called. Suddenly, the pawn that was concealing Beat moved two spaces forward.

"What the hell? Oh, crap!" Beat shouted, locking eyes with Jisatsu, who was standing in the middle of the board.

"That was quick," Jisatsu muttered, starting for him.

Beat hopped on his skateboard and began to take a nervous flight. Jisatsu's eye shimmered and he tossed his blood-stained knife at him. It struck Beat's left thigh, and sent him toppling off of his skateboard, which fell after him.

"I never said you could fly around like a fairy," Jisatsu said slowly, still after Beat. He made his way to him and stood over him like a vulture. Taking out another knife, this one slightly longer, he pointed at Beat's head. "Too easy…"

A bolt of electricity shot out from Jisatsu's left, toward his head. He dodged it narrowly with impressive reflexes and jumped back. He glanced at the rook piece to his left and frowned. He knew he could not kill the annoying one there without taking a hit from the Composer's proxy. But where was the other one? Still, they weren't doing a good job of remaining hidden.

"Beat, are you alright?" Shiki cried, running out from behind the farthest bishop.

"Your daftness will end you, girl," Jisatsu said, making his way toward her. Taking two out at once would easily be worth taking a hit from a silly pin psych.

Shiki glanced at Jisatsu with a mischievous smile when suddenly; a loud buzzer went off just as a white pawn made a move.

"The minute is up, Reaper," Shiki said.

Jisatsu clicked his tongue and disappeared.

Neku ran out to meet the other two. "You were counting the whole time, Shiki?" he asked.

"Of course. Mr. Mew was keeping watch of the pieces for me behind a separate piece in case Jisatsu saw him." Shiki replied.

Neku looked at the board. It was hard to get a perspective of things at their angle, but either he or Shiki had to waste a minute playing against Jisatsu.

"I'll do it," Shiki announced, "Like I said, Mr. Mew has been watching the pieces."

"Alright, I'll drag Beat off." Neku replied.

Beat was wincing so much that he couldn't make a noise.

Neku dragged him off and gripped the knife. "Better hope he didn't have a disease," he said.

"The dude's dead!" Beat shouted, finally able to growl in pain.

Neku tore the knife out of Beat's leg and threw it at the wall. Beat remained calm after that, watching with Neku the game as it unfolded.

Jisatsu reappeared in his transition of a chess-board, hovering above his side of the white pieces. His bleeding appeared to have stopped already. "My opponent is the girl?" he asked, making sure he was correct.

"Yes," Shiki relied confidently.

"To move the pieces, just tell me where you want what piece, and I will move it for you."

"Very kind of you."

"You're welcome. Now, shall we begin?"

Shiki nodded and knew it was her turn based on the fact that one of Jisatsu's pawns moved just before round one ended. She moved a knight forward, and the game was underway.

Forty seconds into the round, Jisatsu had Shiki in check. The girl cleared her throat and adjusted her glasses in embarrassment. She thought she was very good at the game, but Jisatsu was saying otherwise. She had her king moved into safety, and the round ended, with Jisatsu claiming five black pieces.

"Hide now, and the rounds will begin anew," Jisatsu muttered, disappearing.

Neku ran back onto the board, with Beat hobbling behind him.

"Our only hope now is that we remain hidden and have him hurt himself," Shiki said, "I was stalling as good as I could, but something about him made me go so quickly."

"You call that stalling? You two were like lightning out there!" Beat exclaimed, making his way for a black rook on the white side.

Neku then realized that they could hide all around the board, not just by their pieces. Of course, he had no way o knowing which pieces would move while he was trying to hide, but that's an inevitable risk. He followed Beat to the white side, whereas Shiki went back to the black side, behind the king, who wasn't likely to move again.

Jisatsu soon reappeared and headed for the black side.

"Damn, is this guy watching us hide, or something?" Neku whispered to himself as he heard Jisatsu's shoes hit the floor, making their way closer to him.

"Watch yourself, proxy. Your reflection is quite radiant," Jisatsu mumbled, almost incoherently.

When Neku figured out what he said, he looked down at the marble and saw the reflection of himself looking terrified. Jisatsu's reflection was seen as well, though it was just his head. Just then, Neku saw Jisatsu's actual foot from around the chess piece. He ducked back and rolled diagonally to another piece. Jisatsu had escaped his sights but, hopefully, it went vice versa.

"I saw that," Jisatsu said, still somehow without any hint of emotion in his voice.

Neku breathed in sharply as he listened to Jisatsu's steps. Unfortunately, the sounds were drowned out by the low humming of a chess piece moving: the one he was using for cover.

Jisatsu lifted his one visible eyebrow when he found nothing there. "I could have sworn," he whispered, turning away.

Neku tried to hang on as he sat atop the chess piece. It landed with a thud in the middle of the board when the buzzer went off. Luck, if there ever was any, was with Neku.

Jisatsu turned and saw Neku sitting atop the white queen, but the round was over. He then brandished his knife and cut diagonally down his chest, tarnishing his shirt and staining it with dark blood. Then he disappeared.

Neku sighed and hopped down to meet with Shiki, who had already come out of hiding. Beat hobbled his way toward them, with a scrap of his shirt tied around the wound.

"This is boring as hell, yo!" he yelled, "It's too frikken slow-pace."

"I about had a heart-attack… It'd probably be easier if he sped things up." Neku said, collapsing against the white queen.

"So, should I play again?" Shiki asked.

"Are you up to it?" Neku asked.

"I'm in a better condition than you," she noted, "but our white pieces are in a terrible spot. We're bound to lose, no matter what I do."

"So, we'll have to go a round without any pieces to hide behind?" Beat asked.

"Most likely,"

"Good," Neku said, "That way, we can gang up on him."

Jisatsu reappeared over the white queen, dripping blood down its side and on Neku's shoulder. "Are you ready?" he asked.

Shiki nodded.

"Yet again, I am up against this girl. So be it…"

The two began the round, and almost right away, Jisatsu put Shiki in a check-mate. The pieces exited like water being absorbed by the ground, and beheld a large open area of black and white marble.

"I will hold not back my speed," Jisatsu said, bending over slightly as if to enter a sprint.

"Neither will we!" Neku called back, taking one last glance at the six pins he was wearing.

A buzzer went off again, and the Reaper appeared behind the three. Neku and Beat had the reaction to duck, but Shiki was hit full-force with a kick. She was sent to the marble with a smack and it was apparent by the blood that she hit her head on impact.

"I shall remove her from the area," Jisatsu said, "as she is unconscious."

Shiki was picked up by the Reapers psychic powers and set off by the main doorway. As soon as Jisatsu turned back around to face the other two, he had to block a large sonic boom. He put his arms up in defense but was sent skidding on his feet back a good ways. It was Beat, after doing a trick on his board. Afterwards, his leg throbbed and he fell over.

"That was unexpected," Jisatsu noted, tucking his knife away behind his pants.

"One more step and I'll fire!" Neku cried, aiming an open palm at the Reaper.

Jisatsu lifted himself off of the ground. "How about if I hover?" he asked. Even though he was being witty, his voice didn't show. He was just that boring.

Neku gritted his teeth and shot a long line of lightning at Jisatsu. Somehow, however, the Reaper deflected it. It was unclear to Neku how he did it, but it happened nonetheless. Then, Jisatsu landed back on the ground and placed both of his palms down by his feet. Neku felt the ground shake and saw something rising up from within the marble as if he were looking in a pond. Five large chess piece-like pillars rose up and locked Neku in a barrier of some sort. Then Neku looked above him and saw a huge king piece fall from the ceiling about to crush him. He blacked out before anything else could happen.

Beat winced as he thought the piece made contact, but the buzzer cut Jisatsu off.

"Ah, lucky proxy…" Jisatsu muttered. He moved Neku's body out by Shiki's and glanced at Beat. "Be happy I follow rules," he said, "Or else they would both be dead right now."

Beat got to his feet and jumped on his deck.

"Remember, this next round will be spent resetting the--" but he was cut off when a shockwave blasted him in the face. The winds scratched him and created more wounds from him to bleed from as he shook the surprise off.

Beat floated in the air on his skateboard, flipping Jisatsu off. "This is it, yo." He said.

"You have broken the rules…" Jisatsu whispered, wiping some blood from his cheek. He was, at this point, a bloody mess. At that moment, his wings sprouted and grew large. "As I said before, I will now hold nothing back!" A tone of excitement was apparent. For the first time, his voice was not monotone.

His wings began to turn into some sort of thick liquid and Beat thought of his fight with the Iron Maiden.

* * *

Neku shook his head and awoke with a start to find himself alive and unharmed. He looked out on the field and saw Beat flying around like a fly, avoiding the attacks of an armored creature.

It was Jisatsu in his Noise form, no doubt. Beat had obviously broken a rule. Smashing his way through was always the only way Beat could make it through life. The creature was slightly taller than Jisatsu, and closely resembled a medieval knight. From the gap in his helmet flowed blood, which splattered all over when he moved. One of his arms was extremely long and thin, ending in a scythe. His other arm was wielding a sword. The armor was exquisitely detailed with hideous pictures of death, and it appeared overall very rusty. The fact that it was grotesquely bloodied didn't help at all.

He glanced at Neku and swung the scythe arm. Neku ducked from it and noticed that the blade had gotten stuck in the door behind him, so he put a hand on it and lit it on fire with a psych. The flames raced back to the Noise's body and danced furiously. The Noise did not appear to feel it, however. He gathered energy and pulled all of the flames onto the sword, resulting in a more deadly weapon.

"You know nothing of Rexor Cantus," he said in a voice that sounded like a thousand people screaming, "I am eternal!"

Beat struck Rexor Cantus with a strange fiery diving attack with his board, which only dented the Noise.

"Pain is not felt by me! I only get stronger the more I bleed!" Rexor Cantus shouted, pulling his scythe arm out of the wall, "Observe and discover!" He took his flaming sword and shoved it through his armor and through his stomach. Blood spurted out and Rexor Cantus shivered.

"That's sick, yo…" Beat said.

"Perfect! The pain I feel is the only strategy I need! Pain is the ultimate form of power, don't you agree?!" Rexor Cantus shouted.

"No way!" Beat replied.

"Then allow me to show you what I mean!" Rexor Cantus screamed, swinging his scythe arm at Beat, who dodged. But the force of the swing caused a vacuum that threw Beat off his board and crashing to the ground.

Neku's jaw dropped. He looked over at Shiki, who was beginning to wake up. Then he looked down at his pins. There was one; one that Minamimoto had given him that he wasn't sure what it did. He stood up and turned to face Rexor Cantus gripping the pin.

"Taste pain!" Rexor Cantus shouted, making a swing with his scythe.

Neku closed his eyes and focused. Suddenly a large blast of light exploded from his body. It shook the building and tossed Shiki back against the wall with Mr. Mew covering her eyes.

When the light faded, Jisatsu in his Reaper form was standing there, with a huge wound from his sword allowing his guts to escape onto the floor. Neku was still, not sure how to react. Beat had grabbed his head in amazement. Shiki couldn't believe the horror.

Jisatsu grinned. Then he broke out into a full-on chaotic laughter. "You think that is enough to stop me?! I told you idiots that pain only powers me up! Here, I'll show you again!!" He created a sword like the one he was using in his Noise form and slipped it back into his wound, cutting up some of the guts that had fallen in the place. Then, with amazing strength, he pulled the sword up and cut his head in half. After a long while of nothing, Jisatsu fell to his knees and toppled over on his side, dead.

* * *

R.I.P.

Takeshi "Jisatsu" Seiko

The True Chess Master

Holy crap. This chapter was much too long… and I cut it short. Yup, I took stuff out and it was still this long. Maybe it's because Jisatsu was the most mysterious? Well, I wonder what you think of him now. He looks like such a scene kid, you know? Maybe that's why he cut himself up. But I didn't want him to be like, "oh, I'm emo, so I'm gonna cut my wrists," or some crap. No, I wanted him to be an emotionless bastard, to be as far to the other end in attitude as possible. (I also didn't want him to enjoy it. It's an anime stereotype… although he definitely enjoyed it by the end there, huh?) Any guesses on how he died before he became a Reaper? Just translate his name, and there you go. How sad. I won't be answering questions here either, to save time. This chapter is too damn long.


	9. Chapter 85

Hiya. It's been how long? Two months? Whoa... That's too long! I won't get into the crap I've been doing since my last update... but know that chapter nine is coming soon. My apologies for the delay. The story is so ridiculously close to the end at this point, I'd feel terrible about not finishing it. So this, chapter 8.5, will serve as a reminder of my existence. ...I will delete it when chapter nine finally makes its debut.


End file.
